Survival of the Fittest: Version 0
by SOTF's Megami
Summary: In 2005, a man named Mr. Danya brought to the U.S. his adaptation of Japan's brutal BR ACT.  Several years after the first Survival of the Fittest program infiltrated Americas airwaves, the elusive Version 0 tapes have been recovered.
1. Like Puppets, Dancing on Strings

**Like Puppets, Dancing on Strings (Shaker High School Abduction)  
**

Isaac Grayson yawned loudly as he stretched his arms high above his head. Early mornings weren't typically his thing, and today was no exception. His blue eyes blinked lazily as he scanned the empty school bus. He had made it a point to get here early today, despite having stayed up for most of the night, if for no other reason than to claim the coveted back of the bus seat. As he slumped down into the seat, resting his head on his olive-colored dufflebag and propping his legs up so he sprawled completely across the seat, he couldn't help but grin sheepishly at the fact that he'd somehow managed to claim it. Now, he could nap on the way to the campgrounds they were visiting for another boring over-the-weekend class field trip.

And, if he was lucky, maybe he could nap through the field trip as well.

Ike's thoughts were promptly interrupted by the chatter of students. He propped himself up on his elbow in a lazy attempt to see outside the windows of the bus. Much to his dismay, the remainder of Mr. Witz's Biology class was quickly forming a crowd in front of the bus. Noises ranging from the excited chatter of several schoolgirls to ringing cell phones to someone's entirely-too-loud car stereo assaulted his ears, causing Ike to sigh quietly. He propped himself up slightly, using his dufflebag as a pillow against the side of the bus. He rested his head against the cold glass of the bus window, smashing his ponytail against it in the process, and intently watched the door as the bus began to fill with students.

The first to lumber into the bus was a fairly unmistakable student, mostly due to the horrible-looking blonde mullet he'd had for as long as Ike could remember - and Ike had gone to grade school with him. Todd Jackson was the personal punching bag of many, and by the looks of it, someone had exercised that right very recently. It wasn't uncommon to see Todd black, blue, and bloody - typically due to shooting his mouth off to the wrong people - and today was no exception to that. As the tall, lanky student sauntered in, Ike couldn't help but notice his crooked nose and a big black shiner around his left eye. Ike frowned slightly. Todd might have been a bit of a redneck... perhaps more than a bit of a redneck, and he might have had problems knowing when to stop talking, but no one deserved to be beaten up constantly. Ike's eyes met with Todd's dark brown ones momentarily and Todd squinted at him before taking a seat three rows in front of him and propping his muddy boots up on the back of the seat in front of him.

A short, mousy figure with shaggy black hair poked her head through the door next - Elizabeth Quincy. As far as looks went, Elizabeth was completely unremarkable in every form - her hair, which stopped near the bottom of her large ears, was a curly, frizzy, and unkempt looking mess of black which extended down to her overly thin, straight eyebrows in the front. Her eyes were dark, sunken-looking, and always devoid of makeup. Combined with her pointed nose, thin lips, and pale skin, she was far from a looker. Ike didn't know her well. She kept to herself and didn't seem to have many friends. When he did see her around, she always had her nose buried in a book and looked like she was off in a daydream. He supposed it wasn't that surprising - real life, for her, probably wasn't very interesting. Elizabeth sat near the front of the bus, nervously smoothing her knee-length black skirt and tugging on her gray sweater sleeves.

The other set of twins in their class - the identical ones - entered next. Kevin and Brennan Edwards looked so similar that it was often impossible to tell them apart, but the two boys were as different as night and day. Kevin was popular, athletic, and smart - someone his female classmates often referred to as the "total package". Ike played basketball with Kevin on occasion, and there was nothing bad to be said about the guy. His brother, on the other hand... Brennan might have looked similar to Kevin - same brownish-blonde hair, though instead of the spiked look his brother wore, Brennan often combed his down in the front, same blue eyes, same defined features, even the same braces - however, personality-wise, Brennan was Kevin's polar opposite. He hung out with the popular crowd, though everyone, Brennan included, knew that it was solely because he was Kevin's brother. Brennan was moody and oftentimes seemed angry and distant. Maybe that was from the constant pressure of his twin brother being better at quite literally everything. Brennan was no athlete by any means, and his grades were nothing short of atrocious. It wasn't all that uncommon to hear that he'd been expelled for smoking in the bathrooms or spray-painting on the walls again.

Of the two, Brennan Edwards was definitely the bad egg. Surprisingly enough, Kevin seemed all but oblivious to his brother's true nature. Or maybe he simply ignored it. Ike contemplated it for a moment, wondering if he would simply turn a blind eye to behavior of that sort from his own fraternal twin sister. Both Edwards brothers took a seat in the middle of the bus, with Kevin taking the inside seat. Kevin peered out the window, seemingly searching for more of his friends, while Brennan grabbed his MP3 player and slipped two small, button-sized headphones into his ears.

A shrill cackle and flood of high-pitched chatter suddenly filled the bus, causing Ike to squint lightly. Kera and Kayla Harris paraded in the bus, followed by their entourage of Kaylee Thomas, Jaclyn Frost, and Aaliyah McGee. The Harris sisters were the "mean girls" of Shaker High, and for good reason. Kera was the older of the two, and had a reputation of being more than a little easy. She was a pretty girl, with chin-length blonde hair that was always styled and curled at the edges, and blue eyes that seemed to entrance more than a few members of the Shaker student population. Her makeup was always done in hues of pinks and light blues, completed with bright pink lip gloss. Although she was a beautiful girl on the outside, Kera made it a point to pick on any and everyone she thought to be beneath her - this included most of the female students attending Shaker, along with many of the boys. He'd heard rumors about how her favorite hobbies included sleeping with other girls' boyfriends, enticing football players to shove nerds into lockers... oh, and biting the heads off of kittens. Somehow, Ike didn't believe that last part.

Kayla Harris had followed in her big sister's footsteps, although it was easy to tell at a glance that of the two, Kera was the mastermind. Kayla seemed a little dimwitted, although most people didn't seem to notice her lack of intelligence. Most people didn't seem to notice anything beyond her appearance, in fact. Kayla was exceptionally attractive - arguably the prettier of the two sisters - with shoulder-length slightly wavy blonde hair and big blue eyes. Something about her facial proportions made her look more than a year younger than Kera. In fact, her facial structure seemed somewhat childish, underneath the thick makeup. Kayla was thin and somewhat flat-chested, though she made up for this with legs that seemed to go on for days. When it came to her personality, Ike wasn't sure what to make of Kayla. She didn't seem an outwardly spiteful person like her sister, though she did plenty of cruel things. All in all, Kayla just seemed like Kera's prime minion and biggest pawn. In a way, it was a little sad.

When it came to the remainder of the "popular girls", Jaclyn, Aaliyah, and Kaylee really weren't so bad. In fact, Kaylee sung for a local band, played guitar, and, at least in Ike's opinion, seemed like a pretty cool girl. She had a very unique sense of fashion, and it wasn't uncommon to see her in ensembles consisting of plaid pants and ties. Her hair seemed to constantly be dyed a plethora of different colors, although lately she'd seemed to have settled on a brilliant purple with matching colored contacts and lens-less rectangle glasses. She was nice and very friendly - the polar opposite of the Harris girls in every way. Ike never quite understood how the group had become friends.

Then again, he could say the same for Jaclyn and Aaliyah. He didn't know much about either of them. Jaclyn seemed kind of cold and stubborn... like the kind of person who always knows what she wants and how to get it. Aaliyah was the nurse's aid and seemed to be an exceptionally nice, caring person. They entered the bus behind the other three girls, and the group spread themselves out across two rows of seats before resuming their overly-loud chatter.

He'd barely noticed Sheryl Bodine and Meggan Gage slip in over the Harris sisters' grand entrance. Ike didn't know much about Meggan other than that she and Sheryl were close friends. Sheryl, he considered a friend himself. She was a pretty girl, though nowhere near the same caliber of attractive as, say, Aaliyah McGee or either of the Harris sisters. When it came to social crowds, Sheryl was a bit of a floater. She was most well-known for her artwork - in fact, she had headed the project for the new mural recently painted in Shaker High's music building. The thought of that made Ike grin. He'd put a lot of time and effort in on that project himself. Sheryl's cool blue eyes met his for a moment and she flashed him a smile and a slight wave. Ike offered a sleepy grin in return. Rather than moving to the back of the bus to sit with him, however, Sheryl took a seat across from the nervous-looking Elizabeth Quincy, with Meggan following in tow.

The bus was starting to fill at a much faster pace now, and Ike caught glimpses of several of the jocks flooded onto the bus. Jimmy Newton, Ryan Lawrence, Zach Stone, Nick Hawke, and Lorenzo Salas all slipped in at once. All five boys were close friends and seemed almost inseparable. It had been like that since grade school. They'd played sports together since they were old enough to walk, and, unsurprisingly, had remained close friends and competitive rivals up until this point in high school. That was about all Ike knew regarding them. Jimmy was one of the students that had helped on the music building's mural, which wasn't something that many people had expected. From what little Ike had talked with him, he seemed like a good guy. Then again, these were the same boys who used students like Todd Jackson as a human punching bag, so saying they were all "nice people" was... probably an inaccurate statement, Ike mused.

He couldn't help but think that one of the group was missing, though. The tall, broad-shouldered figure walked in behind them, lightly running his hand through his messily layered dark brown hair. Dustin Jennings - though he'd gone by D.J. for several years now - looked like he'd just rolled out of bed, although that seemed to be his style, and, thus far, it had worked well for him. While he'd always palled around with the group of jocks who had entered the bus just prior, he'd always spent a lot of time with the petite brunette that followed behind him, tugging on his sleeve and laughing about something. It was no secret that D.J. and Rachael Williams were very close. As far as Ike could remember, they always had been. It wasn't uncommon for people to make the assumption that the two were dating, although they'd always reminded Ike more of siblings.

Rachael was, in essence, one of the guys. She'd hung out with D.J. since grade school and, by association, had been friends with Jimmy, Ryan, Zach, Nick, and Lorenzo. To be "just one of the guys", Rachael was a highly attractive girl, rivaling even the most popular girls in Shaker in terms of looks. Her dark brown, caramel highlighted hair always fell loosely down to her mid-back, and something about her dark, smokey eye makeup seemed to make her light green eyes pop. One thing that Rachael boasted over the Harris sisters was a near flawless, "padding in all the right places" hourglass figure. So maybe Ike had had a crush on her in the past... it wasn't all that uncommon, although now that he thought about it, it was weird that she seemed to eternally be single. He pondered for a moment why this was before losing interest and fixating his eyes back on the open bus door.

The majority of his class had filtered in by now, but a few faces were still missing. Ike blinked. He'd have completely missed the childish physique of Emily Brewer if not for the overly large green velvet bow protruding from the top of her head. Emily reminded him a lot of Elizabeth in that she was quiet and mousy, though he didn't recall her spending a lot of time reading like Elizabeth. Then again, he couldn't recall having ever noticed her outside of class... or inside of class, for that matter. She quietly took a seat by herself at the front of the bus.

Andrew Steele and Lilly Sterling entered the bus together a few minutes later. They hadn't been dating long, but they made a nice couple. Andrew wasn't an overly outstandish type of guy. He was tall and athletic, with blonde, crew-cut hair and blue eyes. Lilly was the more eye-catching of the two, with long red hair and pretty blue-green eyes. He didn't know either of them well, though he seemed to remember having heard Lilly play the piano on occasion.

Greg Rin slunk in behind the couple, keeping his head down and his eyes on the ground. Greg was a weird sort of guy - a military brat, if Ike recalled correctly, though the lanky body, pale skin, thick glasses, and dense acne were dead-giveaways that he didn't exactly share the same traits as his Army Sergeant father. He wasn't a social kid, and seemed like the type that stayed in his room playing video games all day long. And speaking of playing video games all day...

The pudgy figure who quietly entered after Greg was much the same. Jorge Villegas was another strange, quiet kid. He was supposedly some sort of prodigy at some MMO or another, but there was little to be said for his social skills. He stuttered when he talked, and was often picked on by the other students. Jorge immediately took a seat in the still near-empty front of the bus, putting his backpack next to him as to avoid any sort of awkward social interaction.

The remaining few students shuffled in one after another - Rita Preston first; the shy, awkward librarian's assistant; followed by Will Manchester, a somewhat outcasted student who had just moved to Latham from London, England last year; then Patrick Grey, the quiet, studious baseball player. Christie Hawthorne, resident Goth girl, sauntered in behind Patrick, followed closely by punk rocker Ash Roberts and Ike's own fraternal twin sister, Chloe. Ash nodded at Ike and flopped down in the seat nearest him, while Chloe gave him a sarcastic smirk and sat down opposite Ash.

"Why, dear brother, are you actually on time for a school function? Surely we're making history at this very moment," Chloe teased, her lips pursed in an attempt to disguise a smile.

"Oh, you're oh so funny and clever!" Ike retorted, pausing a moment for dramatic effect, "Oh wait..."

Chloe scowled slightly and shot Ike a dirty look before playfully punching him in the leg. None of the three had noticed the short, balding figure that had entered the bus and ordered the doors shut until a loud, shrill whistle pierced the air and echoed through the bus. The chatter stopped, for the most part, and Mr. Witz, a pudgy man in his mid-40s, smiled from ear to ear.

"Well now!" Witz exclaimed with a wide grin, "What a great turnout we had! Guess it helps that this was mandatory, eh?" He paused for a moment to laugh at his own joke and let out a loud snort before blushing slightly and continuing, "So, uh, as you all know, this is my Bio class's annual trip. We do this every year... get together, have some fun at the campgrounds, and learn about nature in a more hands-on environment."

"Oh, I'll learn some hands-on biology!" one of the students - Ike couldn't discern which - retorted under his breath, receiving a few laughs and a cold glare from Mr. Witz in return.

"_That_ is anatomy, Mr. Salas. If you ever paid attention, you might be able to distinguish the difference," Mr. Witz responded with a sigh, "And we'll have no anatomy lessons of any sort on this trip, boys and girls. We'll be staying at the grounds overnight, with boys and girls in _separate_ cabins." As he continued talking, Mr. Witz motioned for the bus driver to start the bus, "So we'll be heading out now. Mind your manners and remember that just one bad egg could ruin this trip for everyone, so encourage your peers to behave!"

"Oh, that'd be such a shame," Lorenzo chimed in again. He grinned stupidly as Mr. Witz shot him another dirty look and took a seat at the very front of the bus.

"Somehow..." Chloe started in a quiet voice, "I get this feeling that this trip is going to be anything but orderly."

"With these fools?" Ash smirked, "How could you expect anything to be... what was it? Orderly? It's gonna be a damn disaster... and personally, I'd suggest you get in on the fun."

A wide smile spread across Ash's face, and it was apparent from looking at him that he, among others, had some very interesting ideas of how to make this class trip as disorderly as possible. Chloe sighed quietly and turned her gaze toward the window. It was an unusually cold day for being the middle of June, which had prompted many students to bring sweaters, jackets, and scarves, but the bright, cheerful sun shining through a cloudless blue sky was deceptive of that fact. Chloe gazed at the passing scenery as the bus headed out of town - nothing particularly interesting, mostly just houses, trees, and the occasional person mowing the lawn or getting the paper - and she quickly felt herself drifting into a deep sleep. Unbenowst to her, she wasn't the only student on the bus that suddenly found it unbearably hard to stay alert. In fact, within moments, the entirety of the school bus faded off into a deep, dark slumber. The driver of the bus frowned slightly and placed a gas mask over his face.

"Poor kids got no idea..." he mumbled, sighing quietly under his breath.


	2. A Jack of All Trades

**A Jack of All Trades (Aberthol High School Abduction)  
**

**Quick disclaimer:** While I've spent several years contributing to the Survival of the Fittest roleplay, and served as the forum's administrator for many years, Survival of the Fittest was not my creation. Credit for the name, the game's design, and many crucial plot characters - Mr. Danya and Sydney Morvran in particular - belong to Kaishi, the original founder of the Survival of the Fittest roleplaying website. For bringing such a long-running and well-designed roleplaying forum to us, and for the creation of many of these wonderful characters, she deserves credit.

* * *

Mrs. Barnabee had talked about doing something like this for many years, and finally, with lots of help from the Aberthol student body, thousands of dollars in parental and community donations - and a little miracle from God, she silently reminded herself - she had finally managed to pull it off. During her youth, she and her husband had traveled the world. Europe, Asia, South America... she had seen it all. Helena Barnabee had that to thank for becoming the person she was today, or so she had always said. When her husband had passed away ten years ago, those trips had ceased to be, and she settled down again and started teaching school. Ever since that day, she had wanted to revisit those countries, and to help bring her students into the same sort of cultural diversity that she had achieved through travel. But, up until recently, she never quite knew how to do it.

Then, last year, it came to her - school-sponsored out-of-country trips. She'd gone through a lot to pull it off and spent nearly a year working with Aberthol's freshman class to raise the money, but she'd managed to do it. She'd even managed to raise a little extra to pay for several of the less-fortunate students to attend a trip they'd never be able to afford otherwise. All in all, she - and the entirety of Aberthol's sophomore class - was very proud of what they had managed to accomplish in such a relatively short time. This was to be the first year of her sponsored trips, and, hopefully, the first of many trips to come.

The students were beginning to arrive in the small section of the airport. During her travels around the world, she and her husband had become close friends with a small aircraft pilot - Jacques Matthis, or "Jack", as he called himself. When he'd heard about her plans, he'd offered his services for their transport - and had kindly offered to charge considerably less than one of the airport's typical passenger planes would have been. Jack had been in the interior of his plane for several hours now - probably going over his pre-flight checklist, she imagined.

Her attention turned to the line of students filing into the small area and she pushed her glasses up as she scanned the room. Vanessa Reed was in the front of the pack - no large surprise there. Vanessa, or Nessa as she preferred to be called, seemed to act as the head of everything when it came to Aberthol's sophomore class. Student Council, Yearbook, the school paper, Nessa had a hand in it all. Sharp as a tack, she was a shoe-in for class Valedictorian in a few years. Nessa smiled and promptly entered the small aircraft, taking a window seat near the middle; crossing her legs and adjusting her blouse before peering out the window at her fellow classmates.

Coryn Richards, Dru Wakefield, and Michaela King weren't far behind. The three girls - along with Nessa and several other members of Aberthol's sophomore class - had formed quite the large female clique, and could frequently be found roaming the halls or gossiping at the school gazebo together. Coryn and Michaela were cheerleaders, though they were hardly the vicious, top-of-the-totem-pole cheerleaders often seen in mass media. In fact, Michaela was one of the nicest girls in class. Coryn wasn't particularly outwardly friendly, but neither was she malicious nor rude. Drucilla, or Dru, was a dancer, and had actually met the other two girls when she'd joined the school's Colorguard this year. All three girls sat next to Nessa and began talking amongst each other.

Jonathan McDaniel - resident sportsman extraordinaire - boarded next, casting a lingering gaze toward the girls as he walked toward the rear of the plane. He was quite the athlete - one of the best in the high school, even though he was only a sophomore. Jonathan didn't particularly stand out in a crowd - though he was a rather good looking guy, with buzzed blondish-brown hair, dark green eyes, and maroon and white braces (matching the school's colors) - but his name was well-known throughout Aberthol High, and at many surrounding high schools for his athletic prowess.

Kirsten Rhodes - his girlfriend since last year - followed in tow, seating herself next to him. Kirsten was one of the prettiest girls in their class. Her hair was long and straight, and a very pale, almost platinum blonde in color, and her eyes were an intoxicating shade of light blue. In truth, her appearance was why Jonathan had initially asked her out. It might have sounded shallow, and he never made any attempt to deny that fact. Still, they'd been together for over a year now, so, at least in his mind, things had worked out pretty well.

One of the only girls to rival Kirsten's looks, at least in the sophomore class, was Paige Alexander, Kirsten's best friend. Paige was a little too bubbly, and a little ditsy, but she made up for it thoroughly with her appearance. Much like Kirsten, Paige had long blonde hair and bright blue eyes, though Paige's facial structure made her look older than Kirsten... or at least it would have, if she didn't have overly large, childlike eyes. The most noticeable thing about Paige, at least to Jonathan, was the hourglass figure she boasted. That, and the fact that she had legs for days, had managed to distract more than a few of his fellow football players during games. Paige came prancing into the plane behind Kirsten, pulling her boyfriend and Jonathan's best friend - Colton Sevenstar - behind her.

They were sort of the odd couple in terms of appearance. It wasn't that it was odd to see them together - a cheerleader dating a football player wasn't exactly uncommon, after all... it was more that the two were like night and day. Paige was slightly tall for a girl and very Aryan in appearance, while Colt towered over even the 5'6" Paige at somewhere around 6'3" and was of Native American descent, making him very dark skinned and dark haired. Colt and Jonathan had been best friends since grade school, along with Chris Staton, who entered just behind Colt. The group sat down near Jonathan and he closed his eyes momentarily as Paige and Kirsten began chattering.

Jonathan found himself watching the plane entrance quite intently. He wasn't sure who all had signed up for this field trip, or which welfare students Mrs. Barnabee had oh-so-kindly paid for. He couldn't help but smirk slightly as Tonya Palafox and Hannah Lockhart boarded the plane. Much like Colt, Tonya was of Native American descent and was, in Jonathan's opinion, pretty hot. The same could be said for Hannah - a "sizzling", as he'd have described her, redhead with big blue eyes who just looked way too innocent. It might have been mean, but many of the jocks had often cracked jokes about which of them would get to hit it first. In fact, several of them were in a serious competition over it, with most of the football team having placed bets on the outcome.

Some of the homely-looking girls came on board next - Cybil Ryans, a heavy, Gothic chick; followed by Ashley Treadway, a very outspoken tomboy who Jonathan was convinced was a lesbian, and Natalie Summers, who Jonathan could only describe as a mouse. Unattractive and uninteresting. His eyes moved past them to the boys entering behind them. Alex Knight, Parker Lee, and Derek Vaughan were sort of the social middle at Aberthol. He'd hung out with them a time or two, and they were okay guys, but not the type of people who fit in well with most of the school's popular crowd. However, they weren't lame enough to warrant shunning, and in Jonathan's mind, that said something about them.

Anthony Elmore boarded the plane next - an obvious charity case from Mrs. Barnabee. She was definitely doing him a favor by sponsoring him on this trip - someone like that could stand to learn about cultural diversity and social graces, Jonathan mused. He looked like a hillbilly right out of the deep south - messy hair, odd features, snaggle teeth, and dense acne. Then again, Jonathan supposed Elmore served some sort of purpose. He'd made the boy his personal punching bag a few years prior. Anthony must have seen Jonathan looking at him, and shot him a dirty glare before taking a seat near the front of the plane. Tyler Eastwood, class fat kid, had followed in behind Anthony, and took the seat next to him. Jonathan was surprised that Tyler managed to fit in that seat. The kid was quite the blimp.

Jamie Carter slunk in next, though Jonathan nearly overlooked her. Petite and thin, barely hitting 5'0" and weighing somewhere around 90 pounds, Jamie was pretty easy to miss. Her hair was done in two braided pigtails and that, combined with the eyebrow length bangs and complete lack of makeup, made her look like she had escaped from the nearby grade school. How or why someone who was nearly sixteen could manage to look like she was seven was beyond Jonathan. Then again, Jamie was a strange case - a sheltered kid who had made friends with some of the... Jonathan didn't want to refer to them as "trash", but there it was - in Aberthol. People like Eugene Myles and Ralph Riggs. People that any sort of normal person wouldn't dare be caught with, Jonathan speculated.

Micah Bradshaw towered in after her, providing quite the stark contrast to the short girl. Micah was a monster - 6'4" and about 250 pounds at fifteen years old. They called him the Tank, because when it came to their football team and defense, the Mulatto boy was a force to be reckoned with. Off the field, though, Micah was a quiet, awkward kid who often seemed to struggle with his size. It wasn't overly surprising that the guy was so huge - Jonathan had met his father; some retired football player from somewhere or another; and the guy was absolutely massive.

Luke Andrews boarded the plane once Micah sat down. At least, Jonathan thought that was his name. He'd seen him in various classes and occasionally around campus, but he knew absolutely nothing about the guy. Shaggy blondish-brown hair, green eyes, braces... just another face in the crowd, Jonathan supposed. He was followed by Amber Lewis who, Jonathan scoffed, rivaled Tyler Eastwood in sheer size. Amber's level of homeliness made someone like Ashley Treadway look hot. He and several of the football players had nicknamed the brunette "Big Bertha". It might not have been overly clever, but it definitely fit the bill.

It looked as though the majority of his class had boarded the plane by now, but a few students were still filtering in. Jonathan was somewhat surprised to see Gina Evans poke her head through the door of the plane. He couldn't help but wonder if she'd used her drug money to pay her way onto the trip, or if Mrs. Barnabee just felt really sorry for her. Either way, so long as the strawberry blonde-headed girl was on board, this was guaranteed to be a very interesting week. Gina was known for two things - getting around and getting into tons of trouble. It made things interesting, and typically pretty fun.

A head full of curly brown hair appeared in the doorway after Gina, his eyes staring intently at the floor. Martin Douglas was one of the class's smart kids, but Jonathan couldn't help but think he was a weirdo. Whereas Nessa redeemed her nerddom through her social abilities, Martin definitely didn't. He'd tutored Jonathan a few times via the request of teachers to help keep him playing sports, and suffice to say, the two didn't exactly hit it off. However, Martin had helped him out in doing that, and that was the only reason Jonathan had never really felt inclined to shove his head in a toilet.

The entourage that followed Martin, his "friends", were the last to board the plane, and the sight of them made Jonathan groan.

"Heads up boys," he stated overly loudly to Chris and Colt, "Looks like the plane might be shot up."

"Jonathan!" Kirsten reprimanded, putting quite a bit of emphasis on his name.

"What?" Jonathan smirked egotistically, "I"m just scared for my life!"

Kirsten sighed quietly, looking toward Sydney Morvran with a sympathetic smile. Syd was a genuinely nice person and a decent athlete, being point guard for Aberthol's basketball team. Unfortunately, Syd was one of the most unpopular kids in school. Why? Several years prior, when Syd's older brother Dwayne attended Aberthol High, a series of unfortunate incidents had caused the boy to snap, killing several students and teachers on campus before taking his own life. Because of that, most students feared and shunned Syd, even though he'd never so much as given anyone a dirty look.

That wasn't to say Syd had no friends at all. In fact, at that moment, he was surrounded by them. Jonathan sneered as he looked over the ragtag group of losers. Harvey Nash would've been an okay guy, if not for the fact that he'd chosen to hang out with freaks. Harvey and Syd had been friends since grade school, and Jonathan found it kind of surprising that Harvey had chosen to remain Syd's friend even after his brother had gone postal. It was commendable, he supposed... or maybe Harvey was just as messed up in the head.

Ralph Riggs - commonly referred to as Ralphie - seemed just the type of kid that would be friends with a guy like Sydney Morvran. Dull and dimwitted, at least in Jonathan's mind, Ralphie seemed immature for his age. Jonathan had always referred to the boy as a "special needs case", although whether or not that was actually true, he didn't know... or care. Eugene Myles was much the same - a weirdo with bowlcut hair that made him look like he was twelve. The only one who really stood out in their little group of misfits - at least, besides Morvran, who parted hallways when he walked through them - was Jess Bright. Not overly pretty, but not completely unattractive, Jonathan had always thought Jess an odd sight alongside one of the most shunned crowds in school. Her face was a bit homely, but the brunette had pretty eyes and an okay body. Jonathan smirked slightly. Maybe if you put a bag over her head...

Mrs. Barnabee lumbered in behind Jess and took her seat. A moment later, the pilot came on overhead, joking around and making the typical seatbelt and safety precaution announcements. Jonathan found it slightly odd that they'd go through the trouble on a private airplane, but he supposed it was a precaution they'd deemed necessary since it was technically a school field trip. The plane took off with little trouble, and as they ascended into the air on what would surely be a long and tedious flight into London, Jonathan couldn't help but feel weary. His eyelids began to droop, and he could feel his whole body getting heavy. It was strange, he couldn't remember having been that tired only minutes ago. Had they really been flying that long? He glanced sleepily at his friends. Paige was passed out on Colt's arm, and the Indian boy looked drowsy himself. Kirsten and Chris were both sleeping soundly. Strange, Jonathan thought before drifting off into a deep slumber himself.

Behind the closed door of the cockpit, Jack smiled to himself. "Sorry kids..." he muttered, traces of a smile still playing across his lips, "But it had to be someone. Look at it this way... maybe you'll be famous one day."

Jack gently steered the plane away from their initial destination, and, unbenowst to its passengers, they traveled closer and closer to their doom.


	3. Hour of Demise

**Hour of Demise  
**

Jessica Bright's eyes slowly opened, and she groggily rose her head from the... desk that she was sitting in? Somehow, that didn't seem right. Had she fallen asleep in class? The last thing she remembered was boarding an airplane on a school-sponsored trip along with Mrs. Barnabee and several other Aberthol students, but... had it all been a dream? Chocolate eyes slowly scanned the eerily dark classroom around her. Everyone was sleeping. Even stranger was the fact that she didn't recognize many of the slumbering students. Seniors, maybe? Jess wasn't exactly known for being a social butterfly, after all. She tended to stick to her group of friends like glue.

The longer Jess observed the new faces, the more familiar they seemed. She knew these students, but they weren't from Aberthol. Her gaze finally landed on a tall, athletic-looking Latino boy, and suddenly, a name clicked with the face. Lorenzo Salas was easy to distinguish on the football field when he removed his helmet - The bald head, scruffy facial hair, and soul patch gave him away. But, Lorenzo was from Shaker High School... a town about sixteen miles away from Clifton Park, and someone that their school had played against in various sports many times over. Why would Lorenzo be in their classroom?

No, it just didn't make sense. Nothing made sense right now. Her head was throbbing, she could barely seem to see straight, and she felt like she'd been sleeping for ages. Jess found herself scrunching her pink-painted fingernails through her dark hair, trying to make sense of it all. Around her, the other students seemed to be coming to as well. The silent, dark room was slowly starting to come alive with whispers and chatter, making Jess's head hurt all the more. She closed her eyes tightly for a moment in an attempt to shake the cobwebs out, though it didn't seem to do much good.

"Jess," a voice whispered quietly from the seat behind her. Unable to distinguish the voice, Jess didn't turn around. A moment later, she heard it again, though this time it was more urgent, more persistent. "Jeeeess."

Jess slowly turned around to see the scared, inquisitive face of Sydney Morvran.

"Jess, what's goin' on?" Syd whispered quietly.

"Shhh..." Jess responded almost inaudibly, "I don't know... I have a bad feeling about this."

Syd nodded in agreement, "We were on a plane, huh? Going on a trip? Did I... did I imagine that?"

"No Syd..." she shook her head lightly, "No... we were on a trip. We'd just taken off, and I... I got so sleepy... it seemed like we'd been flying for so long. And when I woke up... we were all here... all asleep. I don't... I don't understand what's going on."

Syd nodded, a worried look spreading across his features. He remained silent for several minutes, fumbling nervously with his hands, before looking back up at her again, "... Jess?"

"What, Syd?" she inquired, her eyes scanning over the classroom windows, which had strangely been boarded up. Because of that, she couldn't tell if it was night or day. Her eyes fixated on a Shaker student who had moved toward the door and was trying unsuccessfully to work it open.

"Were you, uh... were you wearing that collar-thing when we left?"

"Huh?" Jess inquired confusedly, her hands slowly moving onto her neck to discover a thin, cold strip of metal wrapped around it. Suddenly, she felt as though she couldn't breathe. She felt as though she were being strangled. She wanted to grab it, rip it off, get it away from her. However, as she absently caressed the surface with her fingers, intuition told her that wouldn't be wise. Her eyes moved to Syd, and immediately, she saw it. He had one too. So did Ralphie... Eugene... Harvey... all the students from Shaker. Everyone. The other students were beginning to notice the collars too, and some of them started to panic.

"I can't breathe!" a blonde-headed, heavy-set boy from Shaker yelled as he tugged violently on the collar around his neck in some vain attempt to pry it off. His voice raised several octaves and he screamed again, "I... I can't breathe! I can't breathe!"

"Ah, ah, ah Mr. Eastwood," a voice suddenly boomed from the school's speaker system, causing the heavy boy to immediately release the collar, though he still wheezed violently. "I wouldn't want you to ruin your chances of winning so early!"

"W-winning?" Tyler stuttered, suddenly seeming more calm and composed, "W-winning what?"

There was no response from the speaker. Instead, the previously locked classroom door came open and two men in camo suits entered.

"Take your seats," one of them ordered in a deep, gruff voice. Most of the students who had previously been moving around the room obeyed, immediately filling back to the seat they had awoken in. The student who had been trying to open the door, however, didn't budge.

"Not interested in your little game," the curly-headed boy stated in a thick English accent, "Now if you'd be so kind as to let me by, I think I'll be leaving."

"Take. your. seat," the camouflaged man responded once again, placing a firm hand on the student's shoulder and narrowing his eyes at the boy.

"I said... I'm. not. interested," the boy retorted, a rebellious look coursing through his dark brown eyes. Jess couldn't help but watch in horror and fascination. The camouflaged man looked as though he would strike the Shaker student down at any second, though the boy looked ready to fight back. Instead, a rotund figure stepped through the door, a wide smile plastered across his face.

"Please, Mr. Manchester, simply hear me out!" the man chimed in, flashing his Cheshire smile toward the English boy, "If you don't like the game, you don't have to play! But, the prize is a good one! I promise you'll be very, _very _ interested!"

"Right..." Will responded disinterestedly before reluctantly returning to his seat.

The rotund man nodded in approval before flipping on the light switch, illuminating the classroom in more than just the pale like from two dim, fluorescent strips. Something about the man made Jess uneasy, and she watched him move to the front of the classroom and pick up a piece of chalk before scrawling his name sloppily across the old-fashioned chalkboard.

"My name," he stated with a grin, "is Mis-ter... Dan-ya." He turned toward the students and winked, "And congratulations are in order for you, Aberthol and Shaker High Schools. You've been randomly selected to compete in what's going to be my first live game-show!"

Several of the students sighed disinterestedly, while several others seemed to pique with curiosity. Jess still felt nervous. Something about this just seemed weird. Why all the secrecy, and why couldn't they leave until after this... briefing, of sorts? Although it made her uncomfortable, she opted not to say anything.

"Some of you don't seem very excited," Mr. Danya noted with a frown, "Don't worry kids, it's a great game show! You'll absolutely be _dying _to play."

Mr. Danya motioned toward the classroom door, and a tall, lanky man wheeled in an old television and VCR before looking nervously toward the children and exiting the room quickly.

"So," Danya stated, the strange, Cheshire smile still playing across his face as he bent down and inserted a video tape, "I'm sure you're all wondering what type of game this is, and how those little black bands around your neck play into it, am I right? Well, this video tape should provide you with a little more insight into a show that I like to call... Survival of the Fittest. This footage was taken fro previous test runs of the game."

* * *

**TEST RUN 1: JERRINGTON HIGH SCHOOL - VANCOUVER, WASHINGTON**

_"Don't worry, children," an older, kind-looking man with graying hair stated in a loud voice, "Together, we'll get through this. Together..."_

_The man's voice was suddenly drowned out by loud, simultaneous beeping as the collar around his neck and every other person in the area's began to flash red. Beep. Beep. Beep. A panicked look began to spread across the faces of the teens gathered around him as the beeping became faster and faster. Suddenly, the collars flatlined, and a series of explosions went off instantly, painting the video camera that had been recording it in a sickening red and leaving a group of corpses behind._

**TEST RUN 1: FAILURE**

**_

* * *

_**

Some of the students in the room laughed. Others looked scared and helpless. Still others continued to watch intently, unsure of what the gorey images being shown to them were supposed to mean, or whether this was all some silly practical joke.

* * *

**TEST RUN 2: RIDGEVIEW HIGH SCHOOL - ORANGE PARK, FLORIDA**

_A man clearly in his late 20's, perhaps a teacher, stood over a broken, battered, and bloodied body with a demented smile on his face. He, too, was covered in blood and missing several fingers, which seemed to have been cauterized. Slowly, he pulled the axe from the student's neck and slammed his foot into the unidentifiable body's head one last time for good measure before pointing toward the video camera and grinning wickedly._

_"See that, boss? Mr. Daniel Tyle... sole survivor of the SOTF program. Stupid kids didn't know what hit 'em. And I must say, some of the girls were oh so tasty and delicious... just like I always thought they'd be."_

_In the background, the sound of a chopper landing could be heard. As the teacher continued to ramble into the camera about the things he'd done to "survive the game", several suited men appeared, confiscating the axe from his trembling hands and walking the violently shaking and clearly deranged man toward the chopper._

**TEST RUN 2: SUCCESS**

**

* * *

**

**TEST RUN 3: OLIVER AMES HIGH SCHOOL - EASTON, MASSACHUSETTS**

_Rain was pouring down around the area, and it was dark, making the figure barely visible through the camera lens. This one appeared to be a girl, kneeling in the grass over another body and shaking violently._

_"Jaime..." the girl sputtered quietly, her voice quivering, "Jaime, wake up... please wake up... please... please don't leave me."_

_"S-sorry..." a boy's voice whispered quietly before coughing violently. Even through the dark, terrible visual, what was probably blood sprayed from his mouth as he did so, "But... you can... go home... now."_

_"Jaime, no... Jaime... Jaime... JAIME!" the girl screamed before breaking down into heavy, anguished sobs, "No... no, no, no, no, no... JAIMEEE!"_

**TEST RUN 3: SUCCESS**

**

* * *

**

More and more were the looks of amusement or boredom disappearing, and more and more were the students in the classroom starting to sit in attention, their faces paling and beginning to look all the more fear-stricken. Near the back of the room, a girl had started crying. The heavy-set man simply grinned - Jess could've sworn his giddy smile grew darker with each passing moment - and continued rolling the footage.

* * *

**TEST RUN 4: CLAREMONT HIGH SCHOOL - CLAREMONT, CALIFORNIA**

_Several bodies lie scattered around a large field. The sun is shining, birds are singing, and all would seem peaceful if not for the field of corpses. The stillness is almost eerie, until suddenly, a blood-covered body twitches and very slowly begins to rise from the ground. The boy says nothing, nor does he seem to notice the camera video taping him from nearby. He simply kneels there, looking around at the corpses surrounding him in the field._

_Again, a chopper can be heard landing nearby, and several armed men appear. The student voluntarily drops all weaponry and dizzily stands up before refusing their assistance with walking back to the helicopter. As he enters the plane, he casts a remorseful look back at the corpses of the fallen._

**TEST RUN 4: SUCCESS**

**

* * *

**

**TEST RUN 5: EASTVIEW HIGH SCHOOL - APPLE VALLEY, MINNESOTA**

_"THEY DIDN'T DESERVE THIS YOU BASTARDS!" a Latina girl screamed angrily toward the sky. Her hair blew violently in the strong winds, "I SWEAR TO GOD DANYA, I'LL KILL YOU. I'LL MAKE YOU PAY FOR EVERY SINGLE DROP OF BLOOD YOU FAT SON OF A BITCH."_

_It was several moments before the camouflaged men arrived to escort the girl to the plane. One man grabbed her shoulder, but the girl didn't move. A defiant smirk slowly formed across her features as the man ordered her toward the aircraft. In one fluid movement, the girl suddenly jammed a knife she'd hidden in her sleeve into the man's jugular and grabbed the shotgun she'd left lying on the ground. Two other men ran to intercept her, but she fired the shotgun first, knocking one of them to the ground. The second one nervously fumbled with a small device in his hand for a moment and pushed a button as the girl fired the shotgun again. As a hail of bullets hit the second soldier, the girl's collar exploded, and her lifeless corpse fell to the ground._

**TEST RUN 5: ...SUCCESS?**

**

* * *

**

Somehow, the "comical" nature of the question mark didn't seem funny at all. In fact, Jess could feel herself trembling as she continued to watch the disturbing footage. Surely, this was all a joke of some sort, or a new HBO special, or something. Surely, all these people were actors who would walk through the classroom door at the end of the video and tell them that the footage was from a new show. This couldn't be real.

* * *

**TEST RUN 6: YEOGANG HIGH SCHOOL - YEOJU, SOUTH KOREA**

_There were only two of them in the dim room, and the girl lying on the ground looked dead... that is, until the camera zoomed in. The petite Asian girl was covered in blood and bruises, her left eye blacked out and her nose oozing blood. She lay there, her clothes torn open to show her most intimate parts, and for a moment could do nothing but tremble and cry._

_The boy standing above her grinned maliciously before turning around and zipping his fly - solidifying any assumptions regarding what might have happened. Slowly, he meandered toward a small table where a pack was laying and pulled a gun from it, marveling at the firearm for a moment. He muttered something in Korean, though someone had been "kind" enough to provide subtitles._

_"You were good," he mused with a grin, "If that's any consolation. You don't have to say so, but I know you liked it. Unfortunately, it's time for us to say goodbye. Your friends are dead, and now, you're the only thing standing between me and freedom. You'd have never beaten me, Sun Jeung. I could've been home hours ago. I just wanted to... have a little fun first." The look on his face was sickening, as if he'd thoroughly taken pride in what he'd done._

_In the time that he'd been talking, the ravaged girl had shakily risen to her feet, picking up what looked to be a hand scythe that had been lying next to her on the ground. Step by step, she inched up behind him, and as he uttered his final words, she embedded the blade into his throat and jerked it across, as hard as she could. The boy's eyes grew wide and he dropped the gun, his hands grasping his open throat in vain._

_"Die..." she whispered quietly before her shaky legs collapsed underneath her own weight._

**TEST RUN 6: SUCCESS**

_

* * *

_

**TEST RUN 7: ROSS SMITH SECONDARY SCHOOL - NORTHFIELD, AUSTRALIA**

_The footage from this test run was much the same as the first had been... nothing but a building filled with several corpses, their collars all blown. The camera panned the room for several moments, showing the lifeless bodies, until fading to black._

**TEST RUN 7: FAILURE**

_

* * *

_

With that, Mr. Danya reached over, his face beaming, "This, children, is my pride and joy. "Could you kill your best friend?". That is our motto. The premise of our little "game show" is quite simple. You've all been randomly designated numbers and issued weapons, which you'll receive before leaving this facility. Once you've left this building, you'll have entered into a death match with one another. You fight until one individual is left standing. That person is granted a fabulous prize at the end... their life."

Danya smiles, his eyes scanning over the faces of each and every student in the room.

"There's no runner-up, no second chances... and as you saw in the video, letting your guard down is fatal, and friends have no place in this game. Now then, I'm sure you all remember the scenes with the collar detonations. The purpose of the collars is quite simple. If you start causing trouble for us, we blow them, killing you instantly. If you all refuse to kill each other, like my lovely class from Ross Smith, we blow them, killing you instantly. If you mess with them, try to take them apart, try to rewire them, whatever... boom! If you hang out in a dangerzone, ka-plowie! If I really don't like you... well, you see where this is going!" Danya grins.

"You'll be allowed to carry your backpacks onto the island along with your daypacks, but be advised that we've confiscated all objects that could double as weapons - oh, and I stole somebody's Gameboy. It looked fun!" he chuckled, "Your daypacks have rations, a first aid kit, a map and compass, a flashlight, and, of course, a wonderful copy of the game rules within, lest you fail to listen as I explain the game to you."

He paused for a moment, pacing back and forth. It wasn't often that he'd been able to be physically present at the start of these games, and he was thoroughly enjoying it.

"So... here's the need-to-know information, kiddos. First and foremost is our "Kill or be killed" policy. If no one dies within a 24 hour time frame, you all do. As you saw by our previous games, it's not often that we have this problem - seeing as at least one person in your class is bound to want to murder you all! However, it does happen, so... let's make sure it doesn't, mmkay? I plan on airing this one, even though I could only get ahold of a pretty obscure channel... at least in America. So, remember kids, you're on Candid Camera! I want to see you perform out there!"

"Now then... each morning at 7 am, I'll make an announcement. I'll tell you what the new dangerzones are, which of your friends and classmates have been killed and, if I'm feeling feisty, I might even tell you who killed them. You know, so you can enact swift retribution and whatnot. Makes for an interesting game. And finally... dangerzones. This is a pretty simple concept. Each time I make an announcement, I'll tell you that various zones, say, this school building, for instance, are danger zones. Now, if I say that, and you try to come into this building, you'll blow up! If I don't see you all moving around enough on the island, it's quite possible that I'll designate areas with lots of kids in them as dangerzones to weed you out and watch you kill each other in a panicked frenzy. Doesn't that sound fun?"

Danya motioned toward the soldiers by the door, who opened the classroom door once again. One pushed the television to the corner of the room while the other assisted the tall, lanky man in wheeling a large pile of dufflebags into the center of the room.

"Most of the time, we simply dump our students onto the island, but since you all are a... very special group of individuals, I wanted to come see you off personally," Danya mused, "I'll call each of you up here, one by one, and you'll receive your assigned dufflebag. From there, you'll exit the door, move down the heavily - and I stress that word - guarded hallway and off onto the island. If at any point you linger, or if you attempt to re-enter the building, you _will _be killed. Fifteen minutes after the final student has exited the building, the area will be declared a dangerzone until the next announcement, at which time, we'll be back at headquarters, watching all the action from the monitors. Fight well, little warriors, and remember... I'm expecting you to put on a show!"

The room had fallen completely silent, albeit for a few sniffles coming from various students. Jess's lips quaked as she looked around the room slowly. The information was slowly starting to sink in. There was a very high possibility that she was going to die. She looked toward Syd out of the corner of her eye. He wasn't shaking or crying, but rather, looked contemplative, and worried. Jess took in a deep breath as Mr. Danya began calling names.

"Boy number one," Danya announced, his lips still twisted into a grin as he grabbed the backpack at the top of the cart, "Harvey Nash."

The shaggy-headed brunette rose to his feet quietly and moved toward the front of the room. Danya handed him the pack, along with his backpack, and offered a salute to the boy. Harvey shot a longing glance back toward his friends before hurrying out the door and into the night.

"Girl number one," Danya continued, "Vanessa Reed."

The redhead rose from her seat, somehow managing to keep calm and collected. Her heels clacked against the school's floor as she moved toward the front of the room and received her belongings from Mr. Danya. With a dignified look on her face and her head held high, she turned to walk out the door. "Good luck young lady!" Danya called toward her just before she could exit, causing her to turn around momentarily and nod at him, "Hope you know what you're up against!" Nessa called back to him before confidently walking down the hallway and exiting the building.

"Ooh, a feisty one," Danya mused to the remainder of the class, "That's always fun! Now then, where were we? Boy number two, Gregory Rin!"

Greg nervously rose, pushing his glasses up onto his nose before moving to the front of the classroom. As soon as he had a grip on his belongings, he shot off down the hallway like a cannonball, leaving Danya laughing heartily, "Someone's ready to get started!," he mused. "Girl number two, Kaylee Thomas."

The petite punk-rocker rose, quickly grabbing her belongings and heading down the hallway, hoping beyond hope that Nessa had waited for them outside the door.

"Boy number three, Ralph Riggs," Danya called next.

"O-oh..." Ralphie stated quietly before rising from his seat. It was apparent the boy was trembling violently. "You're shaking like a leaf, kid!" Danya joked as he handed Ralphie his belongings. The pudgy boy didn't respond, instead looking toward Jess and Sydney before lumbering out the doorway.

"Girl number three, Jamie Carter."

The pigtailed blonde said nothing as the retrieved her belongings and exited the room.

"Boy number three, Brennan Edwards."

"Wait for me outside," Kevin instructed his brother quietly as the teen rose to his feet. Brennan simply shrugged in response before yanking his belongings from Danya's hands. "Ooh!" Danya cooed toward the boy, "Go get 'em tiger!"

"Whatever," Brennan uttered as he strolled out the classroom door. Kevin simply sighed as he watched his brother go.

"Girl number four, Aaliyah McGee."

The African-American nurse's aid rose slowly, her eyes scanning the room around her. Jaclyn had passed her a note during Danya's speech telling her to hide in the bushes outside. She could only imagine that the same notes had been given to Kera, Kaylee, and Kayla as well. As Aaliyah received her items from Mr. Danya, she couldn't help but momentarily wonder if her friend was setting her up for a quick kill outside. Aaliyah immediately pushed the thought out of her mind. It was that kind of paranoia that led to people playing this so-called "game" in the first place.

"Boy number five, Alexander Knight."

The tall boy rose, shaking his head, and uttered something under his breath before grabbing his things and disappearing down the hallway.

"Girl number five, Amber Lewis."

The heavy girl was trembling so badly that she fell when she finally managed to rise from her desk. Danya laughed at the sight of it, before simply chunking the brunette's packs at her. Amber picked them up, still shaking violently, and waddled out the door. As she took one look back toward the students in the classroom, a stream of tears began to run down her eyes. Somehow, Amber knew that she would die out here, and she would die soon. Each step down the hallway was a step closer to her own demise. She tripped again on the way down the hall, only to have a soldier's foot firmly planted into her backside. It was enough to send the large girl shuffling out the door. She ran through the darkness, her sobs providing a dead giveaway to her position.

"Boy number six, Kevin Edwards."

Kevin rose, preparing to bolt out the door in hopes that his brother had actually listened to him. As he moved toward Danya, his eyes met Rachael Williams' momentarily, and she uttered a silent, "Be careful," to her friend. Kevin nodded and grabbed his things before dashing out of the room after his brother.

"Girl number six, Sheryl Bodine."

"I'll find you," Sheryl whispered to Meggan, offering her best friend a comforting smile before moving to the front of the room and taking her packs. Sheryl dug through her open daypack with one hand while continuing to move down the hallway and, after moving her hands over something cold and metallic, found what she was looking for - her map. As she exited the doorway, she dashed off toward the surrounding woods to find a safe place to wait for Meggan.

"Boy number seven, Colton Sevenstar."

Colt nodded at Jonathan and Chris, then looked toward Paige, offering her a wink, which seemed to lighten the expression on her face somewhat, "I'll be right outside," he announced before grabbing his things and disappearing from view.

"Cute," Danya mumbled before making a fake gagging noise, "And pretty unintelligent. Why, girl number seven could walk right outside and pick him off, right, Natalie Summers?"

"P-please don't make us do this," Natalie whispered as she took her things from Danya.

"Oh, sweet girl, surely you'll find some big strong man to protect you!" Danya laughed as he shooed her out of the room.

"Boy number eight, James Newton."

"Deej..." Jimmy mumbled, addressing D.J. Jennings, "Kick ass out there buddy."

"You too..." D.J. responded with a sad smile.

Jimmy jogged to the front of the room and snagged his items before bounding out the door.

"Girl number eight," Danya continued, "Christie Hawthorne."

The raven-haired girl quietly collected her things and headed out the door, not looking back.

"Boy number nine, Martin Douglas."

The curly-headed boy couldn't hide the sad and terrified look on his face as he retrieved his things. He loitered for just a moment outside the door, immediately sprinting out of the building as an armed guard tapped him on the back of the legs.

"Girl number nine, Jessica Bright."

The chocolate-haired girl looked up, placing a hand momentarily on Sydney's desk. She wanted to tell her friends goodbye. To be careful. To take care of themselves. Unfortunately, the only sound she could force herself to make was a barely audible, "Ah..."

Boy number ten, Patrick Grey," Danya called as Jess disappeared down the hallway.

The spikey-headed brunette left quietly, a solemn expression on his face.

"Girl number ten, Chloe Grayson."

The curly-headed girl hugged her fraternal twin brother tightly for just a moment before moving to the front of the room and retrieving her belongings. "If one of you gets cut, does the other feel pain?" Danya mused with a coy grin as she moved to walk out the doorway. She didn't respond, instead shooting him a dirty look before disappearing.

"Guess we'll see, won't we kids?" Danya mused," Boy eleven, Parker Lee."

Parker pulled his ball cap down around his face as he grabbed his things. His eyes trained themselves on the floor as he moved out the door and into the darkness.

"Girl number eleven," Ashley Treadway."

The tomboy rose up, a defiant look in her eyes as she snatched her belongings from Danya's hands.

"Let me ask you something..." the brunette started, her voice low and serious, "Do you think being in this room is a good idea? Sure, you're guarding the hall, but those are just boards on the windows. Who's to say I couldn't come back through and slit your throat before those guards shot me dead?"

"You can certainly try," Danya smiled at her, "It'd make for a most interesting evening. But, I don't think you'll do it."

"And why's that?" Ashley retorted, defiant eyes fixed on the rotund man.

"Humans are selfish creatures by nature, my dear. That's why the test runs for this game have been largely successful. I'm willing to bet that you won't do something so selfless. Most won't. What's the point, if you can't survive? Then again, you've welcome to prove me wrong!" Danya mused.

Ashley sighed quietly and turned her back toward Danya, her fists clenched in anger as she disappeared down the hall.

Boy twelve, William "Will" Manchester and girl 12, Emily Brewer, left the classroom quietly, neither uttering a word.

"Boy thirteen, Sydney Morvran," Danya called.

Syd stood up, momentarily looking back at Eugene Myles, the only one of his friends still remaining in the room. Syd offered Eugene a sad smile before getting his things from Danya.

"I heard your brother was a psycho killer," Danya grinned, causing Syd's eyes to immediately drop to the floor, "You know what that means right kiddo? You're gonna have a big red target on your back. I'd watch yourself if I were you!"

"Duly noted..." Syd stated quietly before exiting the room.

"Girl thirteen, Cybil Ryans."

The large Gothic girl snatched her things, her eyes watching Danya intently, "Those kids on the video, did they go home?" she asked suddenly.

"Nope," Danya smirked, "Those were test runs. We kept them at our facility and dropped 'em in the next game! So, whoever wins this game'll be the first to get to go home. Worth playing for, right?"

Cybil nodded before leaving the room.

"This is taking too long!" Danya groaned, "I'm starting to remember why we dropped you all off in the test runs... mostly because I didn't have to do it! Let's speed things up a bit, shall we? Remember kids, most others will go down if you smack them in the back of the head with your pack! Boy and girl fourteen, Ryan Lawrence and Meggan Gage, you're up!"

A confused expression passed over Meggan's face as Danya called both her and her classmate at once. Both students rose and retrieved their things, after which Ryan grabbed ahold of Meggan's wrist and lead her down the hallway and out the door.

"How cute," Danya smirked, "Boy and girl number fifteen, Tyler Eastwood and Hannah Lockhart."

Both students looked absently at each other before separately approaching Danya, grabbing their belongings, and exiting with Tyler in front.

"Boy and girl number sixteen, Isaac Grayson and Lilly Sterling."

"Boy and girl number seventeen, Micah Bradshaw and Paige Alexander."

"Boy and girl number eighteen, Zachary Stone and Kera Harris."

All six students left separately from each other, none of them associating with the others as they filed out the doorway.

"Boy and girl number nineteen, Jonathan McDaniel and Michaela King."

Jonathan rose from his seat first, offering a hand to Michaela. The Mulatto girl gave him a strange look before accepting it and rising to her feet.

"I won't knock you out if you don't knock me out!" Jonathan mused, to which Michaela only scowled at the athletic boy.

They both grabbed their things and Jonathan turned to face the room as he stood in the doorway.

"Woo!" he shouted loudly before jogging out the doorway, causing his still-seated girlfriend to place her head in her hands. Chris placed a reassuring arm on her shoulder and gripped it gently.

"Boy and girl number twenty, Nicholas Hawke and Kayla Harris."

"Boy and girl number twenty-one, Anthony Elmore and Tonya Palafox."

"Boy and girl number twenty-two, Todd Jackson and Rachael Williams."

"Wait," D.J. whispered, grabbing her wrist as Todd bounded to the front to get his bag, "Be careful. Don't trust anybody... go after him."

Rachael turned to face him, slightly raising an eyebrow, "I'll be fine Tiger," she mused, "Take care of yourself."

D.J. nodded, trying to shake the sense of foreboding he felt as he watched his best friend walk through the school room doorway.

"Boy and girl number twenty-three, Christopher Staton and Kirsten Rhodes."

Kirsten's eyes lit up as she realized her name had been called along with Chris's. She felt safer with a friend. Chris, too, seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and the two grabbed their belongings, Chris carrying both packs, and exited the building together.

"Boy and girl number twenty-four, Andrew Steele and Rita Preston."

"Boy and girl number twenty-five, Lukas Andrews and Regina Evans."

"Boy and girl number twenty-six, Lorenzo Salas and Jaclyn Frost."

"Stick with me," Lorenzo whispered to Jaclyn as they left the building, causing Danya to smirk.

"Boy and girl number twenty-seven, Derek Vaughan and Drucilla Wakefield."

"Boy and girl number twenty-eight, Jorge Villegas and Elizabeth Quincy."

"Boy and girl number twenty-nine, Eugene Myles and Coryn Richards."

One by one, they filed down the hallway.

"Boy number thirty, Dustin Jennings."

"It's D.J.," he muttered quietly before grabbing his belongings.

"Don't care," Danya grinned as the athletic boy bounded off down the hall.

"And last but not least, boy number thirty-one, Mr. Ashley Roberts!" Danya announced, looking at the rocker boy left sitting alone in the room.

Ash looked back at Danya, casually strolling to the front of the room to pick up his things. For a moment, both mens' eyes met and Ash nodded at Danya, "Be seeing you soon buddy," Ash stated with a wide grin.

"Here's hoping!" Danya responded cheerily as he watched the final student disappear onto the playing field. The students were frightened, armed, and, at least for the moment, all together in a fairly small area. It wouldn't be long before someone gave in to fear and temptation now, he imagined.

"I do so love these games," the rotund man stated to no one in particular, his trademark Cheshire smile still playing on his features.


	4. Broken Halos and Black Wings

**Broken Halos and Black Wings**

Meggan Gage (Female Student no. 14)'s large brown eyes frantically searched through the dark treeline surrounding the small school building for any signs of Sheryl Bodine (Female Student no. 06). The pale moon illuminated the night sky, but clouds overshadowed it, making it difficult to see more than a few feet ahead. She started to call out to her, only to be promptly shushed by Ryan Lawrence (Male Student no. 14).

"We need to find Sheryl," Meggan insisted in a hushed voice, causing Ryan to stop walking, turn, and place his hands on her shoulders.

"I know," he responded quietly, "But finding her won't do us any good if it gets all three of us killed. Let's be smart about it, find somewhere to hide, and then figure out where she might have gone, okay? Danya said there was a map in these bags... this island can't be very big."

With a bit of reluctance, Meggan nodded, "'kay..."

She followed Ryan closely as he headed toward the cover of the dense forest, her eyes still nervously scanning the area around her. The forest seemed dense and dark here, and Meggan found herself becoming more and more frightened as they ventured further into it.

"What if there are animals out here?" Meggan whispered, "B-bears, or snakes, or..."

"It's quiet..." Ryan responded, "I don't even hear many crickets... I can't imagine there are too many animals nearby."

A loud buzz suddenly shattered the silence, and Meggan's blood ran cold. The noise was close... disturbingly so. Turning around, she found herself face to face with a brown-haired, acne-ridden boy whose face she didn't recognize at all. He smiled at her - a snaggle-toothed smile, and revved the chainsaw, causing her to back nervously into Ryan, who had also turned to face the boy.

"Too perfect," Anthony Elmore (Male Student no. 21) exclaimed as he looked over the two, "Ripe for the picking."

"L-listen," Meggan stuttered, somehow feeling more unnerved than she ever thought was possible, "I don't know who you are, but... you don't have to do this. You don't have to play. I'm sure you h-have friends... surely you can find them and... and maybe we can all figure out a way to..."

Anthony grinned maliciously before cutting her off, "You're right sweetheart. I don't have to do this. I think you're missing the point. I _want _to do this."

He paused for a moment, his eyes watching Ryan intently before he began pacing back and forth.

"Since you're gonna be my first victims, I guess I can at least tell you _why _it is that you've gotta die. See, I moved to Clifton Park from Tennessee a couple years back, and in those years, I've learned one thing. People like you? You're all the same. Disgusting, selfish, self-absorbed creatures. People like you made my life hell. And not just here. Even when we lived in Tennessee, people ridiculed me. And why? Because I was fat when I was little. Because I have bad acne. Because my teeth aren't straight, and my family can't afford braces. Because... _we're poor_," the words seethed from Anthony's mouth like venom, and he momentarily stopped his rant, a disgusted look on his face.

"You can't blame everyone for that," Meggan responded, a look of sympathy in her eyes, "I know some people can be cruel, but that isn't everybody."

"Isn't it?" Anthony responded, his look of disgust slowly melting into a smile, "People like you, they were the worst. Hypocritical. You can claim you're not "like them" all you want, but the fact is, people like you _allow _other people to pick on guys like me. You stand by and say nothing, or turn the other way and pretend you don't see when it's happening. You're pathetic."

"But..." Meggan objected in some vain attempt to convince Anthony that he was wrong.

"So that's why..." Anthony interjected again, looking down toward the girl with bloodthirsty eyes, "That's why you have to die. If I can kill two strangers... two people I don't even know... then I can kill every single one of those bastards from Aberthol."

"Run," Ryan instructed suddenly, grabbing ahold of Meggan's arm and bolting deeper into the woods.

Anthony sprang to life in that moment, revving the chainsaw loudly and chasing after the pair. Meggan gasped for breath as Ryan drug her through the dense forest. She felt rocks and pebbles rolling under her feet, threatening to make her fall with each step she took. Branches slapped violently at her face, and twigs snapping underfoot seemed to eternally give away their current position. She could hear Anthony's heavy breathing behind her and the noise from the chainsaw. Ahead of them, the trees were becoming less dense. The two suddenly burst through the treeline and found themselves gazing at a river. It didn't seem to be moving very quickly, and didn't seem overly deep, but it provided quite the hindrance to their escape nonetheless.

"Come on," Ryan ordered, bounding toward the body of water. Meggan followed en suite, but before she could enter the water, she felt her legs give way underneath her and her body collapse. She slid harshly across the wet rocks, landing haphazardly on several of them. For a moment, she lay there in pain. Behind her, Anthony revved the chainsaw again. He appeared winded from their chase through the woods, but slowly made his way toward the dazed girl, a wide grin once again spreading across his features.

"Get up," Ryan ordered, turning to assist the girl.

Ryan pulled Meggan to her feet where she wobbled for a moment, trying to regain her footing. Anthony stalked closer to the two, raising the chainsaw and preparing to swing. Before he could bring the weapon down, however, the sound of gunfire echoed throughout the area, and the snaggle-toothed boy yelped in pain as a badly-aimed bullet grazed his hand.

"Back the fuck up," ordered the shooter, who Ryan immediately recognized as Zach Stone (Male Student no. 18).

Anthony looked in astonishment at his bloodied hand, then toward the boy who had fired at him. His gaze slowly moved back to Meggan and Ryan, as if he were pondering whether he could successfully cut the two down before dealing with this new foe.

"I'm not gonna tell you again," Zach spat toward the boy, his green eyes narrowing slightly, "Get the hell out of here."

"Fine..." Anthony barked back after standing in silence for a moment, as if contemplating," Another day then."

"If I see you again, I'll end you," Zach snapped, "Believe it."

"Whatever," Anthony retorted, quickly retreating into the nearby bushes.

Zach's attention turned toward Ryan and Meggan, who had finally gotten to her feet, but was nursing a scraped knee.

"You two okay?"

"Think you could've cut it much closer?" Ryan half-smiled toward his friend.

"I was trying to make a dramatic entrance," Zach responded with a shrug, "Least I saved your sorry ass. I'd have been pretty pissed at you if you'd gone out this early, and to a cliche, horror movie-style killer, no less."

Ryan shrugged nonchalantly, turning his attention toward the blonde in their company, "You okay?"

"Yeah..." she responded after a moment, "Just shaken up."

"I'd say nearly being chopped to pieces by a chainsaw-wielding psychopath warrants that," Zach mused with a smile, "If _that _doesn't shake you up, you've got more balls than both of us combined."

Meggan smiled faintly, still attempting to examine her scraped knee in the pale moonlight. Ryan looked around, wondering how far they'd ran without realizing it. This was going to make finding Meggan's friend considerably more difficult. Then again, getting away from the school building had been part of the plan anyway.

"I don't feel very safe here," Meggan vocalized suddenly, her attention having turned toward the dark treeline nearby,"Not with that guy still so close."

"The lady's got a point," Zach responded. He had exited the school building soon after Meggan and Ryan, and had evidently had the time to retrieve his map and compass from his daypack before venturing out toward the river. He looked over it now in search of a safer place than the dark, shadowy river bank. "The map says there's a little hospital nearby, might be a good idea to head there so we can bandage up her knee. Stuff's bound to go septic out here pretty quickly."

"Sounds like a plan," Ryan responded, with Meggan simply nodding in agreement.

"Let's get the hell outta here then," Zach mumbled as the trio set off down the river bank.

* * *

Amber Lewis (Female Student no. 05) had been one of the first students to leave the school building, but she didn't feel like she had made very much progress toward getting somewhere else. The island was far from travel-friendly, and it was physically taxing on the heavy-set girl to do so much walking in such a short period of time. Her chest heaved as she gasped for air, and she felt as though she would collapse at any time. Finally, she simply couldn't take it anymore, and plopped down on a large rock.

She wasn't sure where she was, but there was a good vantage point of part of the island from here. Maybe she would see someone if they started to move up the hill. Then again, it was hard for her to see anything at that given moment. Tears still filled her eyes, and she shook violently. After a moment of sitting there, Amber nervously fumbled with the backpack she'd brought for their school trip, pulling a black jacket out after a moment and sliding it on. It helped with the shivering somewhat, but didn't make the feeling of doom and despair dissipate at all.

"I don't wanna die..." Amber sniveled as she continued to fish around in her backpack, pulling out a large bag of Skittles after a few minutes of searching and shakily placing a handful in her mouth. Amber ate when she was upset... or nervous... or anxious... or bored. It was the primary cause of her drastic weight problems. Still, she couldn't exactly help it. Plus, if there was ever a time to eat for the sake of comfort, this was it. As she shoved another handful in her mouth, a sudden rustling in the bushes got her attention. She fearfully looked toward the area, expecting an axe murderer to emerge at any moment.

_Maybe if I stay quiet, they'll just go away._

Amber's sniveling was loud enough to grab the attention of whatever was in the bush, though, and it rustled closer and closer.

"Hello?" a male voice called out after a moment, "Is someone there?"

"P-p-please just go away!" Amber screamed, throwing her bag of Skittles toward the bush, "I don't wanna die. I don't!"

"Don't worry," the boy responded calmly, "I'm not playing."

"I...I...I bet they all say that!" Amber yelped, "J-j-just don't c-c-c-come any closer! I'll kill you, I swear to God I will! I have a... a..."

Amber dug hectically through Danya's issued daypack, finally coming across a small package.

"A-ha!" she yelled, pointing the package toward the bush before realizing what her designated weapon was, "I have a... pack of cards..."

"Sounds like my luck," the boy responded from the bushes, "Apparently, I'm supposed to kill all my classmates with a cheese grater. How's that for failure?"

The boy let out a slight chuckle, and Amber couldn't help but smile slightly herself. She wondered if maybe this was a joke after all, and if everyone had been issued such terrible "weapons". The sound of a loud gunshot suddenly reverberated across the island, sinking any notion that this might be the case.

"Mind if I come out?" the boy inquired after a moment, "I'll kick my bags out first, if you want."

Amber pondered the question a moment. He seemed harmless enough... if he was telling the truth, that is. "Yeah..." she replied finally, "But I'm watching you."

"I'd expect no less," the boy in the bushes responded.

A moment later, both bags came sliding out of the shrubbery, both landing out of the boy's reach. The boy exited the shrubs a few moments later, cheese grater held high above his head in a non-threatening manner. Amber didn't recognize him at all - must've been one of the students from Shaker. D.J. Jennings (Male Student no. 30) looked down at the tear-filled girl, who still sat on the rock, shaking. He vaguely remembered her having exited the classroom very early on - she was the one who had fallen down in the classroom. The girl still seemed to be a nervous wreck. D.J. disguised a frown.

"How'd you find me?" Amber inquired after a moment.

"You, uh..." D.J. started, rubbing the back of his head slightly, "You were crying pretty loud. It was... easy to notice."

"Oh..." Amber responded quietly, "If you'd been one of the guys from my school... you'd have looked at me and kept walking the other way."

D.J. frowned slightly, "Yeah, well... I'm not a jerk," he responded.

"That's... nice," Amber mused, looking over the athletic boy.

It was strange. Most of the athletes at her school didn't look twice at her. Most guys didn't look twice at her, period. Amber knew she wasn't what most people would consider an "attractive" girl. She was very large, with pale skin and a homely face. Thick eyebrows, dull brown eyes, and mud brown pig-tailed hair made her all he more unimpressive. So, to receive any sort of attention from a guy like this - especially _good _attention - was quite a change from the norm.

"I'm D.J., by the way," he stated suddenly, realizing that he hadn't offered up his name yet.

"Amber Lewis," she responded with a smile, "So, um... were you... were you headed somewhere in particular?"

"Hmm," D.J. mumbled, as if thinking, "I had a chance to look at the map earlier, thought maybe I'd go to the house marked on it until morning, but the more I think about it, seems like a lot of people might come up with the same plan."

"I feel safe here," Amber mentioned quietly, "You can see down that hill... you know, make sure nobody's coming up. I-if you wanted to stay, you could help me watch the woods. At least we'd be ready to run if anyone... bad... came."

Her face flushed red, and at that moment, Amber was thankful it was dark outside.

"Sounds good," the dark-headed boy stated, taking a seat on the ground near his pack.

Amber rubbed her arms absent-mindedly. She wasn't great at making conversation with anybody, and the fact that this was a guy - and an attractive one, at that - made her all the more nervous and uncomfortable. She sat in silence for several moments, afraid of saying something stupid if she spoke. Thankfully, D.J. seemed preoccupied as well. She couldn't help but wonder what, or who, he was thinking about. For a moment, she debated whether or not asking a question like that would be intrusive. She didn't know the boy well enough to pry. But, in the same breath, the silence in the area was absolutely killing her, and making her more uncomfortable than she'd been when she was alone. Finally, she decided just to speak up.

"So, you're not going to play, right?" she inquired, feeling stupid after asking the question.

D.J. half-smiled,"I thought we established that?"

"I just meant, like... what're you gonna do? Try to find friends, maybe? Do you have a girlfriend? I bet she's worried about you."

_Stupid girl... did you really just ask that?_

As Amber mentally swore at herself, D.J. simply shrugged.

"No girlfriend," he responded quietly, "I guess... I'll try to find my friends. Wish I could say something inspiring like, you know, I'm gonna get these collars off, kill the son of a bitch who put us here, and send everybody home happily ever after, but... I don't have quite enough confidence... or egotism, to think I can do all that."

He grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head again.

"I like that answer though," Amber responded contemplatively, "It... gives you something to hope for, you know? I think... that's all we've got out here. Hope."

"At least that's something," D.J. remarked, "Makes things look a little less dreary."

"Yeah," the heavy girl responded with an affirmative nod, "Exactly."

_Zach, Ryan, Jimmy, Enzo, Rachael, Nick... I hope you guys are okay..._

_

* * *

_

Natalie Summers (Female Student no. 07) sat propped up against a tree, holding the locket worn around her neck tightly in her hand. After leaving the school building, she had wasted no time in fleeing into the woods. She was not sure how long or how far she had run, but when she had finally gotten too tired to walk, she had stopped, resigning herself to resting on the trunk of a broken tree. The past few hours had seemed so surreal, and Natalie found herself wishing that she had never gone on the class trip to begin with. It was not like her to go on things like that in the first place, but her parents had insisted. She hadn't wanted to leave home, hadn't wanted to miss church, or Sunday brunch with her grandparents, but her mother had encouraged her to go see the world.

Some good it had done her. The one time the meek, timid girl had dared venture outside her neighborhood, she had been dragged down into the gates of Hell. She closed her eyes tightly, still clutching the locket to her chest, and began to slowly rock back and forth. The wind howled through the trees, causing her to shiver, but she continued to rock. In an attempt to calm her nerves, she began to hum - first quietly, than slightly louder. The familiar church song usually brought her comfort and peace, but here, in this place, she found none.

"My faith sustains me," Natalie whispered to no one in particular.

Silence was her answer.

"Our father who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name..." Natalie started in a barely audible voice, "Thy kingdom come, thy Will be done... on Earth, as it is in Heaven."

Her voice rose marginally higher as she continued.

"Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from Evil."

The homely brunette didn't near the sound of leaves rustling and twigs cracking behind her. She was far too wrapped up in her prayer.

"For thine is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory forever. "

"Amen," came a masculine voice from behind her, causing Natalie to spin around with a loud gasp.

"W-who's there?"

Anthony Elmore smiled, chainsaw in hand, "Hi there."

"Oh," Natalie uttered quietly, a hint of relief ringing through her voice, "It's just you."

"Mmhm," Anthony responded with a cold grin, "Just me."

Natalie stood up, gently brushing her ankle-length blue jean skirt free of the debris that had accumulated on it from sitting on the log. She didn't know Anthony Elmore well, but he seemed a lot like her - quiet and shy. He didn't talk to many people, and didn't seem to have any friends. All that aside, he seemed like a nice person, and she could think of many other faces that would have been much worse to see than his. She smiled softly at the boy, her gaze immediately fixating on the blood coming from his hand.

"What happened?" Natalie exclaimed suddenly, grabbing the boy's hand and examining the wound.

Anthony was caught off-guard for a moment. It was not often that he was shown any sort of compassion or sympathy by anyone - not true sympathy, at least. It took him several moments to convince himself that this mousy girl, just like all the others in his school, was a complete fake.

"Just a scratch," he responded calmly, shrugging his shoulders, "Guess I got myself on a thorn or something, I dunno."

"Do you have any gauze in your pack?" she inquired, motioning toward his daypack.

Anthony's eyes lit up suddenly. They had all been issued weapons. That meant that this girl must have had one as well. While he was all for murder and mayhem with a chainsaw, it might not hold up too well against someone with a gun. He had been reminded of that fact all too quickly when that boy from Shaker had shot at him at the river.

"No," he lied, "My first aid kit was empty. Where's your pack? Don't you have one?"

"I lost it..." Natalie explained quietly, "I was so scared when I left the school that I dropped it somewhere between here and there. I wanted to go look for it, just in case, but it was so dark, and... I didn't want to go alone."

"Oh," Anthony responded dimly, "That's unfortunate."

_It might be worth going back to get... if she had a good enough weapon. My luck, I'd go through all the trouble of finding it for her to have a rubix cube or something stupid._

Tugging at her bright red sweater, Natalie said nothing to the boy for several minutes. Anthony sighed almost inaudibly. His first two would-be-victims had been much more fun. Even though he hadn't been able to finish them off, at least he had been able to chase them down. This girl simply stood there as if begging to be put out of her misery. Wrapping her arms around her chest, she, too, sighed quietly. Anthony looked her over, noting her dull appearance - no makeup, weary-looking eyes, boring clothes. The most interesting thing about Natalie Summers was the bright, rainbow-colored scarf wrapped around her neck.

"You look tired," he stated matter-of-factly, prompting the girl's interest.

"Mmhm," Natalie replied, "But I'm a pretty heavy sleeper, so I didn't think it'd be a good idea to sleep."

_Too easy._

"You know," Anthony stated coolly, "you could sleep for a while, and I could keep watch. Then you could do the same for me. We'll be... teammates."

Natalie's drab brown eyes suddenly came alive, and she smiled, "That would be amazing! Would you? Would you really?"

"Of course."

Unraveling the rainbow scarf from her neck, she placed it around the snaggle-toothed boy's and smiled, "Hang onto that for me, okay? I don't want it to get dirty."

Anthony nodded, taking a seat on the stump she had been sitting on while Natalie got comfortable on the ground, using her backpack as a pillow and closing her eyes. Anthony slumped forward, arms between his legs, and stared coldly at the ground. A tinge of remorse rose into the pit of his stomach, and while the pale girl drifted off into slumber, he temporarily questioned whether or not he should really do this, or whether he should only kill the people who had technically "wronged" him. His thoughts fell back on what Danya had said in the classroom - the names of the killers might be announced. Anthony felt as though people should come to fear him. He would rather be feared than unknown, and he wanted people like Jonathan McDaniel to know that a slow, painful death was coming for them at his hands. He would be their Grim Reaper. He would drag every single one of these bastards into oblivion with him.

Coming out of his reverie, he looked toward the small girl on the ground, who by now was sleeping soundly. It was time, he decided. Taking the gaudy scarf from around his neck, he leaned over her pale body, tying the scarf to one wrist before binding the other tightly with it. Once he was satisfied with the knot, He grabbed Natalie, dragging her to the nearby tree trunk and laying her head on it. All the motion had caused the girl to stir, and he found herself looking into her large brown eyes momentarily.

"What are you-" she inquired sleepily, before Anthony cut her off, putting a finger to his lips.

"Shhh," he insisted, "Go back to sleep, it's alright."

Natalie nodded, going to move her arms to a more comfortable position before realizing that the cause of her discomfort stemmed from her wrists being bound. Her face went pale and she began to struggle, causing Anthony to plant his boot firmly into her chest, knocking the air from her lungs. Realizing that it was now or never, Anthony started the chainsaw, reveling in it's roar for a moment before turning his attention toward the small girl, who was trying desperately to rise to her feet. He kicked her again, causing her to emit a loud yelp and fall to the ground. Planting his foot into her back, effectively pinning her there, he smiled maliciously, watching her struggle.

"Please don't," Natalie wailed as she flailed around in vain, "God help me! God protect me!"

"There _is_ no God," Anthony cooed as he brought the chainsaw down onto the base of the girl's neck, reveling in her horrified screams as it slowly sliced into her flesh.

The bloodcurdling cries echoed through the forest for several moments as Natalie Summers breathed her final, terror stricken breaths. Even after she was long dead, Anthony continued to slowly bring the chainsaw further down, watching in fascination and delight as flesh and bone were destroyed until the girl's head was completely severed. Taking the girl's blood-soaked head, he used her hair to tie it to the tree next to them, then propped her crimson-painted corpse up next to it.

"Pretty as a picture!" Anthony exclaimed darkly before grabbing his belongings and disappearing into the darkness of the thick woods, just a little more disturbed than he had been previously.

**Fifty-nine remain.**


	5. Falling from Grace

**Falling from Grace**

Christopher "Chris" Staton (Male Student no. 23) pressed onward through the treeline, toward the sound of running water that seemed to reverberate throughout the area. By some stroke of luck, he and close friend Kirsten Rhodes (Female Student no. 23) had been assigned identical numbers, and the two had fled the school building together. They hadn't had much time to analyze the map Danya had provided of the small island before the loud roar from some sort of weapon had caused them to flee in the opposite direction.

Chris had been following the river since then, opting to stay in the cover of the trees rather than taking the easier path along the bank of the river. He was starting to get tired from carrying all the luggage, but made no mention of it to his petite, blonde-headed companion. Kirsten stopped suddenly, turning to look at him. Chris offered her a faint smile, which she returned before looking away, clearly preoccupied with other thoughts. After a moment, she broke the silence.

"So... people are really doing this, aren't they? They're already killing each other."

His smile immediately melted into a frown, and he nodded solemnly, "Definitely sounds like it."

"Mm..." Kirsten replied quietly, clearly still contemplating something.

Chris pushed forward slowly as the blonde followed in tow, her eyes cast toward the ground. He had not minded the initial silence so much, but now that she had gone quiet again, it was starting to bother him. Casting a quick glance back in her direction, he couldn't help but notice the distinctly troubled look in her eyes.

"We'll stop when we get to that waterfall," Chris explained in an attempt to re-spark the conversation.

"Waterfall?" Kirsten inquired suddenly, prompting Chris to nod again.

"Don't you hear it? There's got to be some sort of waterfall up ahead, it's where the crashing noise is coming from."

"Mm..." was the only response he got, causing him to sigh inaudibly.

The roar of rushing water was becoming louder, and after a moment, the terrain began a sharp ascent and he could see it. Chris nodded toward the waterfall, exiting the treeline with Kirsten in tow. It was a beautiful sight, even in the darkness. With a relieved sigh, Chris let the bags fall off his shoulders and onto the ground before taking a seat on a nearby rock. Kirsten followed en suite, taking a seat next to the athletic boy. After several awkward moments of silence, Chris finally spoke up again.

"Everything okay?"

"That's... a pretty dumb question," Kirsten stated sarcastically, raising an eyebrow at her companion.

"You know what I mean," he retorted, "You're just... really quiet. Are you... worried about... Jonathan?"

Kirsten's eyes met Chris's and she shook her head, "No, I..." she murmured, trailing off and looking back out toward the falls, "I think he'll play, Chris."

It had been a concern in Chris's mind as well. He had known Jonathan since the two were kids, though they had grown less close after a particular incident about four months ago. Chris had thought his best friend to be flawless growing up - Jonathan had always been the coolest person he knew. However, over the course of the past few months, Chris had noted a distinct dark side to Jonathan McDaniel that he had never quite seemed to see before.

He did not vocalize it, but he had watched Jonathan in the classroom as Danya explained the game, and he could not help but think that the boy had seemed a little too interested. Jonathan was a born competitor. He had always liked to be the victor in every endeavor, and he typically met this goal. The quiet calmness with which Jonathan had listened to Danya's explanation had managed to chill Chris to the bone. From the look of it, Kirsten had seen that same cold, calculating stare.

"I think... we'd best avoid him, then," Chris mumbled quietly, "Unless you don't-"

"No, I want to," Kirsten cut him off abruptly, affirming his decision on the matter.

Chris leaned down, unzipping his daypack once again before reluctantly pulling out the SPAS-12 Shotgun he had been issued. He went hunting on occasion with his father, so he was somewhat familiar with guns, but not this particular one. The idea of using it against a human made him feel slightly nauseous. Still, he could think of worse things to have been issued. If nothing else, it would help to protect them against some of the players - and from the sounds of it, people were already at it out there. If nothing else, the shotgun served as a sign of relief in that aspect.

Neither of the pair had had time to analyze Kirsten's designated weapon. As Chris looked over her shoulder, he found that she was intently staring at the device now. It sat in her lap, the screen lit up in a bright green color, and she held her flashlight in one hand, instruction manual in the other. Chris looked on interestedly, absent-mindedly placing one hand on her shoulder.

"Chris," she said after a moment, prompting his attention, "This thing... the manual says it tracks collars."

Chris's eyebrows raised slightly as he looked at the green screen of the device, "As in, the ones around our necks?"

"Looks that way," Kirsten responded, pointing to the two red blips in the center of the screen, "That's us, I think. There doesn't seem to be any way to tell who the dots are, though."

"Still," Chris mused, "Pretty useful little thing."

"Mmhm," Kirsten responded, leaning her head on his shoulder.

She faded into silence again, and Chris, too, began thinking. When it came to weapons, they were fairly well-off. Knowing when someone else was in the area would be a huge advantage, and his shotgun provided the weapon power to defend themselves from any sort of unwanted presence. In that aspect, Chris felt secure in that they would always have the upper hand. His thoughts turned back to Jonathan momentarily before passing on to his other friends. He could only hope that Colt and Paige were safe as well. Finding the two was a priority.

"So," Kirsten mused, breaking the silence, "What's the plan?"

"Hm..." Chris pondered, rubbing his chin momentarily, "Let's wait here until the sun comes up, then start looking for Colt and Paige. We might have the upper hand with your GPS, but I don't exactly wanna press our luck."

Kirsten nodded in agreement, "Until then, shoot anything that steps through those bushes. I don't feel like dying tonight, so... let's not take any chances."

"Agreed," Chris responded with a faint smile.

* * *

_This is the place..._

Jaclyn Frost (Female Student no. 26) found herself peering out into a large field of flowers. The beauty of the area belied the nature of the SOTF island itself, and for a moment, the blonde-headed girl found herself taken in by it. A loud noise nearby snapped her back to her senses, and her ice blue eyes scanned across the large field. The notes she had passed to each of her friends during Danya's briefing had instructed them to meet her directly south of the school building's "zone", past the safe point. At the time, she hadn't realized this large field would be that point.

Now, she peered on hesitantly, searching for the other girls. Jaclyn had been assigned a drastically later number than the remainder of her friends, so odds were, she would be the last to arrive. Unless, of course, someone out there was already playing for keeps, and had run into one of her friends first. Jaclyn shuddered at the thought of it.

A sudden hand on her shoulder caused Jaclyn's blood to run cold, but before she could turn to see who had come up behind her, the voice revealed itself, "Oh my God Jaclyn, thank God you're okay!"

Jaclyn turned to see Kayla Harris (Female Student no. 20)'s tear-stained face, and before she could respond, the tall blonde embraced her in a tight hug. Having never been an overly affectionate person, Jaclyn simply stood there, her arms limply at her sides, until Kayla finally released her. Behind them, Kaylee Thomas (Female Student no. 02) and Aaliyah McGee (Female Student no. 04) tentatively came out from behind their respective trees. Both girls had left the school building early on, and had been hiding just outside the field for quite some time.

Jaclyn scanned each of her friend's faces - Kayla's tear-soaked, mascara-stained one, Aaliyah's nervous, uncomfortable one, and Kaylee's angry, defiant one. One face was missing. Looking around momentarily, Jaclyn frowned.

"Where's Kera?" she asked after a slight pause.

Immediately, she wished she had avoided the question. Kayla's eyes teared up again and her lower lip began to tremble. Jaclyn half-wondered if Kera had already been killed, but did not voice her concern. Instead, she motioned toward the center of the field.

"I know it's not smart to go out there," she explained quietly, "But it's dark, and she has a better chance of seeing us if we're easier to spot, right?"

The three nodded simultaneously before following Jaclyn's lead and heading toward the center of the field.

"You've got some sort of plan, right?" Kaylee inquired softly.

Jaclyn shook her head as she stopped, not facing the other girls as she spoke, "Beyond sticking together and staying alive? No."

"That's comforting," the punk girl stated with a visible frown.

"You have thoughts on that point?" Jaclyn inquired, raising one eyebrow slightly.

"He said this was his first game, right?" Kaylee retorted, a smug grin on her face.

"No," Aaliyah spoke up, causing Kaylee's frown to return, "He said it was the first _live _game. You saw the videos. He's done this several times over, with all sorts of students."

"Whatever," Kaylee interrupted, brushing a piece of bright purple hair from her face, "The point is, something like this would take a whole lot of time and money to get right. I don't think he's had either. There's no way the game is infallible, he hasn't been doing it long enough. The only thing forcing us into his rules are these collars. If we can take them out of the equation..."

"And how do you suggest we do that?" Jaclyn snapped, clearly unimpressed with Kaylee's ability to state the obvious.

"I... haven't gotten that far yet," Kaylee frowned.

"Then I'd say my plan is far more realistic," Jaclyn retorted, "_We'll_ work on staying alive, and _you_ can live in your little fantasy world where you're suddenly smarter than grown men with a lot more experience at this."

"Wow," Kaylee responded, clearly baffled by Jaclyn's remarks, "Way to be a bitch Jacki."

The blonde's eyes narrowed as she shot Kaylee a dirty look. God how she detested that name. Before Jaclyn could verbally respond to Kaylee's words, Aaliyah interrupted the two, a concerned look spreading across her delicate features, "Stop it you two. The last thing we need to be doing is fighting."

Kayla had tuned the conversation out, having little desire to listen to two of her closest friends bicker in an already tense and dangerous situation. Instead, she had been intently watching the field in search of signs of her sister. She was starting to get worried. Kera had left the school building just a few students before her. In the back of her mind, Kayla was slowly convincing herself that something bad must have happened for Kera to be so late.

A wave of relief surged through Kayla's body as a tall, thin figure suddenly emerged in the field, looking around through the darkness as though searching for something. Throwing her arms up in the air, Kayla waved toward the figure in an attempt to draw its attention. It worked like a charm, and the figure changed direction, slowly moving toward the four girls.

"Kera!" Kayla yelled, before immediately being shushed by Jaclyn.

Thankfully, Kayla's outburst was not unfounded, and the figure that moved toward them through the darkness was indeed Kera Harris. The blonde carried a katana loosely at her side, and Jaclyn found her vision falling on the blade. Something about Kera wielding a weapon unsettled her. Then again, it was far more intelligent than what the other girls appeared to have done - not even bothering to check what they had been issued. Upon approaching the girls, Kera smiled faintly before embracing her younger sister in a one-armed hug.

"Sorry I'm late," she stated quietly.

"What happened?" Jaclyn inquired.

Kera sighed quietly, as though reluctant to relive the tale, "Someone attacked me on my way here."

"Oh my God!" Kayla exclaimed, hugging her sister once again.

"I fought him off," Kera explained, a serious look spread across her features, "Just delayed my trip a bit."

"Who was it? Did you see him?" Kaylee chimed in, an inquisitive look in her eye.

Although Kera had initially filled in that piece of her plan, the question caused her to suddenly blank. Fumbling through the names of several students in her mind, she finally settled on one.

"I don't know," she stated quietly, "Ash Roberts, I think."

Kaylee stepped closer to the girl, her eyebrow raised slightly, "You're lying."

"What?" Kera responded, feigning a hurt expression, "Why would you say that?"

"I know Ash, Kera. I know him well. Ash wouldn't buy in to this bullshit game."

"And how do _you _know that?" Kera inquired mockingly.

"Because I _trust _Ash, Kera. He's a close friend of mine. And right now, I definitely don't trust _you_. Explain yourself. What _really _held you up so long?"

"You're right," Kera admitted, an exaggerated pout forming across her lips, "Too smart for your own good, Kaylee."

"What's that supposed to mean?" the rocker girl inquired, moving even closer to Kera.

"It means that you managed to ruin my little charade already. That's quite disappointing."

"Charade?" Jaclyn inquired, clearly not understanding why Kera would lie about what delayed her, "What're you playing at?"

"I guess it was a poorly thought out plan," Kera mused still half-smiling, "I figured I'd waltz in here late, claim to have been attacked, and rally you girls against anyone I chose. When Kaylee asked me who, I froze. There are just so many people I want to be rid of. I suppose I started off with a bad one. I didn't realize Kaylee and that mohawk-wearing freakshow were..._ahem_... friends."

"Is this some kind of bad joke?" Kaylee inquired, watching Kera intently, "Because it's really not funny."

"I'm just kidding you guys," Kera laughed suddenly, catching the four off-guard, "Did you really think I'd try to get you guys to play the game for me?"

Kaylee let out a sigh of relief, which immediately turned into a bloodcurdling scream as Kera drove the blade of her katana deep into Kaylee's stomach. The other three girls froze, looking on in horror as Kera pulled the katana down through Kaylee's abdomen with some effort before yanking it out, watching her former friend fall to the ground.

Kera looked toward Jaclyn, preparing to strike the blonde down next, but before she could swing, Aaliyah grabbed Jaclyn's arm, half-pulling her through the open field. Rather than giving chase, Kera turned toward her sister, who was looking down in horror at the now lifeless eyes of Kaylee Thomas.

"Kera..." Kayla sputtered after a moment, clearly in shock, "Y-you killed her."

"I know," Kera responded with a faint smirk.

"Why would you do that? Why would you kill one of our friends?" Kayla half-screamed at her older sister, prompting a simple shrug on Kera's part.

"You really are dumb sometimes," Kera remarked, examining her sister closely, "Don't you get how this works Kayla? We kill them, or they kill us. What would we have done if we'd all found somewhere to hide together? We'd have locked ourselves away in a building, and we'd have hidden until finally, someone's paranoia got the best of them, and they murdered every single one of us in our sleep. Do you want that to happen? 'Cause I don't. I want to go home."

"I... I want to go home too," the younger Harris sister half-bawled, causing Kera to frown again.

"Stop that," Kera ordered after a second, "You're making yourself look like shit. Look... you're not coming with me. Right now, you're a liability. Once you realize how this game works, come find me, and we'll see what we can do about pushing til the end. Until then, little sister, here's a suggestion. Stop crying like a baby, it makes you look ugly. Go clean yourself up, find a few idiotic boys to screw, kill them in their sleep, steal their weapons... do what you have to do to survive. And if you can make it a day or two by yourself, you and I can push it to the end together."

"But... please don't leave me!" Kayla objected tearfully.

Kera smiled in response, "You can't learn to fight if I'm here to hold your hand. Survive for me, okay? You're my best friend, little sister. I know it seems like I'm being mean, but you'll be stronger for this... or dead, one of the two."

Kera shrugged nonchalantly before turning away from the still-crying Kayla and heading back into the dense forest. Kayla could feel her body collapsing under her own weight and the svelte blonde fell softly to her knees in the grass, her eyes closed tightly. After a moment, she lifted a shaking hand up to Kaylee's lifeless face, running a hand softly down the rocker girl's cheek before closing her eyes.

* * *

"Lorenzo, please go away," Chloe Grayson (Female Student no. 10) pleaded to the tall Hispanic boy that, despite the number of times she had asked him to leave, continued to follow her down the winding dirt path.

"Aww, c'mon Chloe!" Lorenzo Salas (Male Student no. 26) protested, "Why you gotta be like that?"

"I'm not 'being like' anything," Chloe stated flatly, "I'd just really appreciate it if you'd stop following me."

"You're safer with me around, you know," Lorenzo insisted.

"I'm a lot less likely to be noticed with you gone," Chloe retorted, "You're being loud."

"Only 'cause you keep tellin' me to leave!" Lorenzo protested again.

"If I say you can stay, will you shut up?" Chloe inquired with an audible sigh.

"Of course!" Lorenzo declared with a sheepish grin.

Chloe sighed again, "Fine."

Lorenzo traveled behind the brunette in silence for a few minutes, his vision fixated on the woods surrounding the path. He had not heard any sort of noise beyond the chirping crickets since he had left the school building sometime prior. He had run into Chloe in the woods shortly after, and had stuck with her - much to her dismay - ever since. He had tried to convince the brunette that they should find shelter until morning, but Chloe had immediately shot down the idea, insisting instead on finding her brother Ike.

So far, they had had no luck in their endeavor. Lorenzo was starting to get tired, though he couldn't admit that to his companion, who quietly pressed on down the trail. Despite their dire situation, Lorenzo found his eyes trailing up the petite brunette's legs and directly to her backside. Thankfully, Chloe didn't seem to notice.

"So why'd we never hook up?" Lorenzo mused, still checking out his blue-eyed companion.

"Because I'm not interested," Chloe shot him down immediately, "In the slightest."

"Ouch," Lorenzo grinned, feigning a frown. Chloe didn't seem to notice. "So what _is _your type, mami?"

"I thought you were going to stop talking," Chloe spat out, a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"Fine, fine," Lorenzo replied, his eyes trailing back to the forest around them.

Lorenzo barely had time to react as loud rustling and the sound of heavy footsteps began to echo out from the nearby forest. Before Lorenzo could fully turn around, two figures sprung from the bushes, one wrapping their small arms around him in a tight hug while the other leaned down, hands on her knees, attempting to catch her breath. It took him several moments to realize that the caramel-colored girl he was holding was Aaliyah McGee, and the blonde that was bent over was Jaclyn Frost.

Chloe had stopped, her issued baseball bat raised in what would have been an attempt to defend herself. Now, she lowered the weapon, clearly seeing neither girl as a threat. Lorenzo frowned, realizing that his shirt was now soaked with tears from the nurse's aid, but before he could ask what had happened, Jaclyn finally rose up, a serious expression on her face.

"Kera's playing."

"What?" Lorenzo responded, a doubtful look in his eye, "How do you know?"

"I told the girls to meet me south of the school building. Kera was the last one to show up. She started babbling about how someone had attacked her on the way there, and when Kaylee called her on it, Kera... she..."

"She gutted her," Aaliyah sobbed.

Lorenzo couldn't disguise the large frown that had formed across his features. Instead, all he could do was hug Aaliyah tightly, "Hey, it's okay," he assured the girl quietly.

Chloe placed a comforting hand on Aaliyah's shoulder, her eyes trailing momentarily over to Jaclyn, who had crossed her arms across her chest, then up to Lorenzo, who, for the first time since she had known him, actually seemed to be showing some sort of compassion for another human being. After a few minutes of thought, Chloe sighed inaudibly before putting her hand on Lorenzo's arm.

"I think... maybe we should find somewhere to hide until morning after all."

She had expected the Latino boy to gloat. Instead, he nodded solemnly, placing an arm on Aaliyah's shoulder as he ushered her further on down the path. Chloe lingered behind, a concerned expression across her face as she watched Jaclyn for a moment. Once Lorenzo was out of earshot, Chloe finally spoke up.

"You okay?"

"Fine," Jaclyn responded, pushing past Chloe on the path, "Just... wasn't expecting Kera to turn on us, that's all."

Knowing Chloe could not see her face, Jaclyn quickly fluttered her eyelashes, fighting away the tears that kept threatening to well up in the corners of her eyes. Instead, she simply followed Lorenzo in silence, with Chloe heading up the rear, baseball bat in hand.

* * *

Once she had left the school building, Ashley Treadway (Female Student no. 11) had made a beeline for the area marked 'Bathroom Facility' on her map. Ashley was quite the tomboy, and thus had no qualms about using the restroom in the forest. No, Ashley had decided on heading to the bathroom facility for another reason entirely - namely, the fact that most every bathroom facility she had ever seen had one door. One entrance, one exit. It would be easily guarded, and considering her issued weapon - a skillet, of all things - she needed all the help she could get in that regard.

It felt as though she had been walking for ages, but finally, the brunette set eyes upon the small and quite unremarkable facility. Knowing that someone could have beaten her there and might already be inside, she opened the door quietly, skillet held in anticipation for anyone lying in wait within the building. As the door fully opened, the moonlight cascaded down into the small facility, illuminating the white tile floor.

It was empty.

Ashley brushed a piece of short, straggly brown hair away from her face before slowly moving into the deserted building. Throwing her pack in a corner near the door, she did a quick scan of the bathroom facility's interior. It was nothing spectacular - a few stalls, a shower area, some sinks. In fact, it looked pretty atypical for a normal campground-type bathroom area. There were several small rectangular windows lined across the building's wall, near the ceiling. Rather than testing the lights to see if they worked, Ashley quietly walked to each of these, opening them up.

She checked the small shower area to find it desolate. Moving back into the main part of the facility, she walked slowly past each stall, skillet still in hand as she opened each door. In the back of her mind, Ashley couldn't help but think that she must be really paranoid to examine an area so thoroughly. Then again, given the reason behind why she was on this island in the first place, taking precautions was far from paranoid - it was smart.

Finally satisfied that the facility was completely devoid of anyone except herself, Ashley took a seat on the cold tile floor, unzipping her daypack and quickly cramming her belongings from her backpack into it. Carrying around one bag would be easier than two, even if it was weighed down a little more. Finishing the trivial task only took a few moments, and Ashley suddenly found herself sitting quietly in the empty area without a plan.

_So Ash, what now? Stay here until someone eventually comes through the door? Wait 'til morning and try to find friends? Maybe if we all hold out long enough, someone will send help. It's not like the government can just ignore a bunch of missing kids, right?_

The entire ordeal was giving Ashley a headache. She reached up, rubbing one of her temples delicately. In the end, it did not matter what she intended on doing. She would wait until daylight. Moving around at night, without a legitimate weapon, was too risky. She had already heard gunfire and the roar of another weapon from somewhere out in the forest. People were already playing - and she definitely did not want to run into someone with some sort of firearm when she only had a skillet to defend herself.

_This is so fucking crazy._

The crunching of leaves outside sent Ashley into attention, and the girl rose to her feet, holding the skillet like a baseball bat. The crunching of leaves and snapping of twigs continued, echoing through the bathroom facility due to the open windows. Ashley remained quiet, lying in wait in the dark. A moment later, the door slowly opened, and Ashley sprung to life, swinging the skillet violently toward the head of the intruder.

The boy yelped in pain as the skillet connected roughly with his head before falling in a lump on the ground, propping the door open with his body. The moonlight illuminated her victim, and Ashley suddenly realized that her intruder had been close friend Martin Douglas (Male Student no. 09).

"Fuck," Ashley stated flatly.

"Oh shit!" another voice erupted from outside, causing the brunette to spin toward him, skillet at the ready.

Isaac "Ike" Grayson (Male Student no. 16) raised his arms defensively and began to back away from the tomboy. Realizing that the other student did not seem hostile, Ashley dropped the skillet to her side, using her free hand to rub the back of her head in embarrassment.

"Sorry," she started, "But that's what you two get for sneaking up."

"Hey, it's not like we knew this place was occupied!" Ike retorted.

Ashley shrugged before leaning down to check on Martin. The curly-haired boy was out cold, though he didn't appear to be severely wounded. After contemplating for a moment, Ashley motioned for Ike to come toward her.

"Grab his feet," she instructed, "And let's get the two of you in here before somebody sees the three of us and decides to blow our brains out."

"Deal," Ike replied, grabbing Martin's feet as Ashley grabbed his arms. The two lifted the short-statured boy up and drug him far enough into the bathroom facility that the door closed.

"What'd you boys get for weapons?" Ashley asked, realizing that neither boy had been carrying one.

"Hedgeclippers," Ike scowled, "And Martin got... cleats."

"Wonderful," Ashley remarked sarcastically, "I suppose we can dress you up like Scissorman and you can shear people to death."

Ike smirked at Ashley's quip before looking toward Martin's unconscious body once again. Ashley's gaze followed his, and the tomboy frowned noticeably. "So... what were you two doing before, uh... that?" she asked after a moment.

"Looking for my sister," he responded, "She was long gone by the time I got out of the school. I can't help but be worried. Truth is, there's a lot of people from our class that I just don't trust. Not to mention, I don't even know any of the kids from Aberthol."

It occurred to Ike then that the brunette sitting across from him _was_ one of the Aberthol students.

"Besides Martin I mean," he corrected himself, "Found the kid sitting by the river crying hysterically. He seemed harmless enough, so I felt bad leaving him out there completely defenseless. Seems like a good guy. Kept talking about wanting to find his friends, and kept asking me questions about my sister."

"Who'd he want to find?" Ashley inquired, suddenly seeming more interested.

"A couple guys named Syd, Harvey, Ralph, and Eugene... and two girls, Ashley and Jess. At least, I think that's what their names were."

"I'm Ashley," she responded with a grin, "So, I guess he found me."

"Oh," Ike grinned, running a hand through his ponytail, "I guess he certainly did, then. I'm Ike Grayson, by the way."

"So you two were gonna look for Syd, and your sister?" she prodded.

"That was the plan," Ike mused, "Guess it still is, when he comes to."

"I'm coming with you," Ashley announced with a firm nod, "I wanna find Syd too. And now that I've found Martin, I don't wanna let the kid outta my sight."

Ike nodded, his thoughts seeming to go elsewhere.

"And we'll find your sister, too."

"Good," Ike responded quietly, "Good."

**Fifty-eight remain.**


	6. Clouded Judgment

**Clouded Judgment**

The first rays of sunlight were beginning to trickle through the island's dense forestry as Rachael Williams (Female Student no. 22) exited the shrubbery around the warehouse, gun at the ready for any would-be attackers. After surveying the area for several moments, she motioned toward the bushes, satisfied that the coast was clear. James "Jimmy" Newton (Male Student no. 08) and Sheryl Bodine (Female Student no. 06) stepped out from the dense woodlands behind her. Both teens spent a moment surveying the area for themselves, Jimmy nervously spinning the stick of his issued splitting maul in his hand.

"Coast is clear," Rachael confirmed, receiving a simple nod from both students in reply.

The trio had managed to survive the darkness with relatively little trouble. Rachael had stumbled upon an unknown strawberry-blonde in a bright orange hoodie with a pickaxe, but had managed to avoid the girl entirely before running into Jimmy and Sheryl in the bamboo coppice. Running into Jimmy had been a pure stroke of luck on her part. He was someone she considered a decent enough friend, and someone she felt like she could trust. While she didn't know Sheryl Bodine well enough to say either way, she seemed like an amicable girl, and Jimmy didn't seem to consider the petite blonde a threat.

The trio had decided to head to the old warehouse building and attempt to fortify the structure for as long as they could. Now that they stood in front of the two story building, Rachael felt like it was definitely the right choice. It would be hard with just the three of them, but with some luck, they would be able to board up the doors and windows and keep watch in shifts. Maybe that way, they could survive long enough to figure out a way to escape this game.

"Rach," Jimmy stated suddenly, drawing the brunette's attention, "Maybe I should take the gun and go in first."

"Nah," Rachael replied coolly, winking at the baseball player, "I think I'm less likely to get shot immediately if someone that's completely nuts is waiting inside."

"What makes you say that?" Jimmy inquired curiously.

The chocolate-haired girl simply shrugged, "I dunno, I'm a girl. Knowing some of the freaks at our school, they'd at least try to rape me first."

Jimmy frowned visibly, not quite finding the humor in Rachael's words - partially because she was probably right. Shaker High School seemed to have a huge segregation line. Students were either smart and well-liked, athletic, or they seemed to fall into the untouchable nerd category. And some of those people... well, Jimmy didn't really want to think about it. Either way, Rachael seemed reluctant to let go of the gun, and Jimmy wasn't going to attempt to forcibly take it from her. Rachael swiftly moved toward the building's door, motioning for Sheryl and Jimmy to follow her. She indicated for them to stay outside the building as she rested her hand on the doorknob. Taking a deep breath, Rachael slowly turned the knob of the warehouse door.

_One... two... three._

Flinging the door open with a bit of force, Rachael spun around the corner, gun aimed into the dimly lit building in a hectic search for anything that might pop out from the shadows. Nothing moved, and except for the typical creaks and groans of an old building, the warehouse was silent.

"Stay here," Rachael ordered her two companions under her breath.

Slowly, she entered the building, weapon at the ready. The warehouse was completely unremarkable on the inside - dusty from having gone an indiscriminate amount of time with no sort of upkeep. Pieces of furniture, large crates, and a few tables lined the exterior room of the warehouse. She could see a few offices, along with a breakroom-type area on the first floor of the building. All appeared to be empty. The stairwell leading to the second story of the warehouse was large and poorly-lit by the sunlight, but Rachael felt hesitant to see whether or not the lights actually worked. Instead, she made her way up the dark stairwell, surveying the second story of the warehouse as it came into view.

"AHHHHHHHHH!"

The shout came from her left as she ascended the final stair, and Rachael felt two blunt objects smack into her back. The force with which she was hit would have failed to leave even a light bruise, and the brunette spun around in annoyance at whoever had struck her. Jorge Villegas (Male Student no. 28) knelt low to the floor, a deadly look in his eye. The pudgy Hispanic boy would have been much more intimidating if not for the fact that he wielded a pair of drumsticks in his hands. Rachael sighed quietly, placing her hands on her hips and narrowing her eyes at the rotund boy.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" she spat, causing Jorge to back up slightly, his "weapons" still at the ready.

"Skull level mob!" Jorge yelled suddenly, catching Rachael completely off-guard, "Can't engage without heals! WHERE ARE MY HEALERS?"

"Uh..." was the only word Rachael could manage to get out as Jorge sprung to life, dashing down the large stairwell at a pace she had never seen the boy move at before.

"I pulled guys, I pulled!" Jorge yelled loudly as he raced toward the door, "Run, run! Try to leash it!"

Jorge bolted out the front door, catching both Sheryl and Jimmy unawares. Jimmy quickly raised his maul and swung it at the boy, but in his state of panic he missed completely. Thankfully, nothing about Jorge Villegas was lethal. In fact, he darted straight past Sheryl and Jimmy, making eye contact with the girl for a moment before yelling again.

"It has adds! Someone pick them up! Run for the entrance!"

Sheryl's eyebrow raised slowly as the raving boy disappeared into the forest, still screaming loudly about something none of the three quite seemed to understand. Moments later, Rachael slipped out of the door, shrugging her shoulders slightly.

"Guess that was our only... uh... guest."

"What in the hell was that about?" Jimmy asked quizzically.

"No clue," Rachael responded with a faint smirk, "We might've been in trouble if he had something besides drumsticks. Smacked me pretty hard with those. I don't think he'll come back though. Poor guy seems like he's already lost it. I guess... one night out here did that to a lot of people."

The expression on her face, which had been somewhat cynical up until now, seemed to melt into one of worry and anxiety momentarily. Jimmy found himself frowning as well. If a few hours had done that to one of their classmates, there was really no telling what was happening to the rest of them. The thought of that was somehow highly unsettling. It was Sheryl who finally broke the silence, motioning toward the warehouse.

"We should get to work on this before it gets dark."

"Agreed," Rachael nodded, "It looked like there was a ladder upstairs that lead to the roof. We'll take turns keeping watch from up there. I'll go first, you two find something to start boarding up the place with. We'll switch in a few hours."

"Alright," Jimmy responded, heading into the building with Sheryl in tow. Rachael paused for a moment, her light green eyes turning toward the forest.

_I really hope you guys are alright out there..._

* * *

Somehow, Nick Hawke (Male Student no. 20) couldn't help but think that the ravine didn't seem nearly as menacing now that it was surrounded by daylight. When he had stumbled upon it in the early hours of the morning, he had nearly fallen into the abyssal crack in the earth. Suffice to say, his memories of those first few hours were not exactly pleasant. He had run into Patrick Grey (Male Student no. 10) not long after escaping from the school building, and the duo had come across Andrew Steele (Male Student no. 24) when they had arrived at the ravine.

Since then, the area had been eerily peaceful. The basketball player supposed that was a good thing. He had spent the past several hours contemplating the Survival of the Fittest game, and for the first time since they had arrived here, felt genuinely torn about what course of action he should take. Nick was one of the most promising young athletes at Shaker High School and, if things kept looking up for him, he might have even been able to attend Duke or Butler in a few years. Now, those plans seemed distant, and his future seemed pretty grim.

Somehow, though, playing just crossed a morality line with Nick. He had briefly toyed with the idea when he had first run into Patrick, but the thought of taking another life made him ill. Even if he played to the end, even if he managed to survive the game, going back home, to the normal life that had belonged to him before this ill-fated trip, seemed nigh on impossible. It wasn't worth it to have to slaughter every single one of his former friends and classmates, not to mention a plethora of people he didn't even know, in order to benefit only himself.

Then again, they didn't exactly have many other options. People out there _were _playing, Nick knew that for certain. He had had the unfortunate luck of finding a mangled and beheaded corpse in the forest not long before they had arrived at this ravine. In fact, that was what had sent he and Patrick scrambling through the dark woods in such a hurry, and that was what had caused Nick's near fatal tumble near the deep crack in the earth. Thinking back to the bloodied head swinging in the breeze made Nick shudder, and he felt bile threatening to climb up his throat. Swallowing deeply, Nick forced it back down.

"I can't stand sitting here like this," Andrew announced, breaking Nick's train of thought, "There are people I want to find. Lilly might be hurt out there somewhere, or worse."

"Noble," Patrick spoke up quietly, "But not very realistic."

"What's that?" Andrew inquired defensively, "Getting up and doing something instead of sitting here waiting to be killed?"

"No," Patrick replied, his eyes going back to the book he had been reading, "Running all over the island with the fool notion that you're going to find one person out of the sixty or so running around out there. You're a lot more likely to walk right into your death by doing that. At least staying in one place ups the chance of eventually running into that person, assuming they're wandering around the island as well."

"I don't give a damn about statistics and probability," Andrew declared stubbornly.

"Suit yourself," Patrick retorted nonchalantly.

"And on that note," Andrew suddenly spoke up again, his attention turning back toward Patrick, "If you're so big on statistics, why are you still here? Wouldn't you be less likely to die if you were by yourself? Or at least less likely to be noticed."

Patrick shrugged, not bothering to look up at Andrew as he spoke, "Technically, I'm more likely to survive if our attacker has two other targets to aim for."

"_Wonderful_," Andrew sighed exaggeratedly, "So you're hanging out hoping we'll take the first bullets."

Patrick simply smirked, pushing his reading glasses up the bridge of his nose. Nick couldn't help but shake his head at the two arguing. It was obvious that at this point, Patrick was just saying things to push Andrew's buttons - and by Andrew's reactions, he was doing an excellent job of just that. It was slightly humorous, even given their dangerous situation. Nick's attention tore away from the boys and was drawn toward faint whispering from one of the nearby bushes. Rising to his feet, crossbow in hand, Nick moved toward the noise.

His hand drew a piece of dense foliage back and he could make out a scrawny figure curled up in a ball on the ground. Further inspection revealed the student as Greg Rin (Male Student no. 02), who was sitting there, cradling himself and gently rocking back and forth. Nick didn't know Greg at all, beyond the fact that he was rumored to be one of the smartest kids in their class. He seemed harmless enough, though he looked very scared. Nick deliberated for a moment on whether or not he should call out to the boy before deciding that having someone as intelligent as Greg on their side definitely could not hurt.

"Hey," Nick called quietly, taking a few steps through the brush, "Hey, Greg."

Greg Rin's face suddenly shot up, staring at Nick with large, horrified eyes. Nick noticed then that the object he had been cradling in his hand was a fork. Reaching his hand out slowly, Nick made some vain attempt to comfort the other student.

"Hey man, it's okay. You're safe here."

Nick's words were too little, too late, however, and Greg bounced to his feet, staring the basketball player in the eye.

"N-no. Go away, leave me alone!"

Before Nick could get another word in, Greg shot off through the forest, clutching his fork tightly to his chest. Nick frowned as he watched the boy go. Somehow, Greg's terrified eyes seemed to burn a hole into his mind, and Nick could see them clear as day as the boy disappeared into the trees. Sighing quietly, Nick emerged from the bushes, where Andrew and Patrick both looked up at him quizzically.

"Everything cool?" Andrew asked nervously.

"Yeah," Nick responded, "Just some kid. Tried to talk him over here, but he ran off into the woods."

"We should be more careful," Patrick remarked, "There's no telling how long he's been sitting there. If he was playing, we'd all be dead by now."

Patrick's words sent a violent chill through Nick's body, and he nodded quietly, gripping his crossbow just a little tighter.

* * *

Elizabeth Quincy (Female Student no. 28) sat facing the old well, the rusty metal bucket clamped tightly in her hands. Elizabeth had taken a nasty spill down a small hill during the night and had torn up her knees pretty badly. Without thinking, she had poured every bit of water Danya had issued in the daypacks onto her knees in an attempt to prevent them from getting infected. Now, she regretted it. The island was cool enough that her dark sweater felt comfortable, but the physical exertion she had placed upon herself throughout the night had left her quite dehydrated.

With a contented sigh, Elizabeth drank the remainder of the water in the bucket before raising to her feet and lowering the bucket back into the well. Once it had filled with water again, Elizabeth re-raised it, carefully filling each water bottle that had been in her daypack with the precious substance. Once her chore was completed, Elizabeth returned to her seated position on her daypack, inspecting her skinned knees thoroughly.

One sickening crack later, the raven-haired girl slunk forward, lifeless eyes open wide.

Gina Evans (Female Student no. 25) marveled at her own handiwork as she kicked Elizabeth's corpse off of the daypack she had been sitting on. During Danya's briefing, Gina had wondered just how hard it would be to actually kill a person. She had been in her share of trouble, and had even spent a bit of time in juvenile hall for nearly beating a girl to death with a baseball bat, but she had never taken a life before.

Looking down at the messy-haired girl, Gina felt strange. The feeling wasn't remorse, or pity. In fact, the feeling was so strange because deep down, Gina Evans felt absolutely nothing - no sort of empathy for the life that she had just stolen away. She hadn't even known the girl, but Gina was sure she was a daughter, granddaughter, maybe a sister. This girl had been beloved to somebody, and Gina had stolen her life away without so much as blinking.

Somehow, it made the strawberry-haired girl feel powerful, and a sadistic grin passed across her ruby red lips as Gina looked over the corpse.

"Sorry sister," Gina whispered to the deceased body, "But you were wide open."

The girl had been so caught up in her own actions that she had failed to hear Gina approach from around the corner. It had been a simple task to slam her issued pickaxe into the back of Elizabeth's head and turn it violently, and just like that, the girl had fallen over. She had never even seen Gina's face. Digging through her belongings for anything of use, Gina found only her issued steak knife. Tucking it away in the pocket of her hoodie, Gina's eyes fixated on the body again.

How eerily easy it had been to end a life. One small twist, and the girl had fallen over like a puppet whose strings had been cruelly severed.

_Should I feel bad? Sad?_

Gina hovered over the girl, staring at her intently. She certainly didn't seem like a corpse. In fact, she looked peaceful, other than the shocked expression her face had twisted into when Gina's blow had connected to the back of her head. Her glassy, lifeless eyes reminded Gina of the porcelain dolls her mother had kept around the house when Gina was young. She had always found them creepy then, but now, the doll-like girl in front of her didn't seem creepy in the slightest.

"Well..." Gina spoke softly after a few moments, "Thanks for the water kid."

Grabbing her daypack, which was slightly heavier with her newly collected items in it, Gina headed back into the forest, leaving the empty shell of Elizabeth Quincy lying on the dew-soaked grass, her glossed over eyes staring up toward heaven.

* * *

Jonathan McDaniel (Male Student no. 19) sat on one of the gazebo's benches, body slouched forward with his arms and head resting between his legs. His issued broad axe lay beside him on the bench, just an arm stretch away from severing the head of any unwanted visitors. Jonathan knew the gazebo was dangerously out in the open, but at this point, he couldn't have possibly cared any less. For several hours now, he had been thinking... about the game, his friends, his girlfriend... his future. Jonathan had a play-to-win attitude about nearly everything, but the premise of this game shook him to the core.

Survival told him to play. Morality told him not to. Michaela had bailed on him immediately after they had left the school building, leaving the athlete alone with his thoughts. He had initially decided to wait for Chris and Paige outside of the school building, but it only took a few moments of sitting in the dark, watching other students retreat from the building, for Jonathan to realize that friends and romances would be a huge liability in this game.

The thought of Kirsten had come up in his mind more than once. If he played to win, there was a chance that he would be forced to kill Colt, Chris, Paige, and Kirsten before it was all said and done. Something about that was unsettling to the football player. He had always been a selfish, self-absorbed person, but even he was incapable of taking the life of someone he cared about without so much as batting an eye.

And yet, if he went to find them... attempted to protect them to the end... well, he might wind up doing the same thing, if it didn't get him killed first. Chris and Colt could defend themselves, but the girls were a liability. Jonathan cared about Kirsten - he wouldn't say loved, that might have been stretching it a little too much given his actions in the past - but regardless, he didn't care about the cheerleader enough to die for her. In the end, that's what it would come down to if Paige and Kirsten were kept in the equation. He would either have to kill them or kill himself so that they could survive.

And that simply wasn't going to happen.

It might have seemed a cold and cruel decision, but Jonathan had decided that was the only way things would work out with his "friends". To that end, he had simply decided to avoid them. He could sleep better at night knowing that they didn't actually die by his hand. Running a hand through his brown buzzed hair, Jonathan couldn't help thinking about his parents and younger brother. His thoughts raced from the faces of his family to football to all the other girls besides Kirsten, and back to his future.

He was supposed to be something big. A celebrity. Someone famous. He wasn't supposed to die in a place like this by the hand of someone whose life would never amount to anything. Because of that, it only made sense for him to play to win, and to eliminate every single person that threatened to dethrone him as the sole survivor of the SOTF ACT. If he _did _survive, his publicity would be almost guaranteed, and he would be set for life.

It occurred to Jonathan at that moment that if he made it to the end, he would be famous. Anything and everything he did on the island would be revered, and he would be punished for nothing. After all, people couldn't actually blame him for playing this game. They couldn't blame him for using basic survival instincts and eliminating every single student between him and first place.

_So I'm gonna do this, then. I'm gonna kill every single motherfucker I see... and at the end, I'm gonna be famous for it all. Everything I do, every trial I undergo... I'll be revered as a hero. I can rape, maim, murder... cause all the carnage and chaos I ever wanted, and at the end of the day, people will take pity on me because "I was forced to do it"._

Jonathan took a deep breath, rising from his slumped over position.

_And if I come across Colt, or Chris, or... Kirsten... then... then I guess I just have to kill them too._

A faint smirk formed on the corners of his lips as he thought about it a little more.

_Or maybe I could keep Kirsten around for a bit. For... fun. She always served her purpose pretty well when it came to that._

Rising to his feet, Jonathan picked up the axe, swinging it around slowly by the handle. Using all his strength, he suddenly swung the axe at one of the wooden poles of the gazebo, embedding the axe deep into the wood. It took him quite a bit of effort to work the blade out of the wood, but as he gave it one final yank and the blade came free, Jonathan smiled to himself.

Paige Alexander (Female Student no. 17)'s eyes widened as she caught a glimpse of Jonathan's face from a distance, and she clung tightly to Colt Sevenstar (Male Student no. 7)'s arm. The tall, Native American boy watched his friend pace around the gazebo, axe in hand, and couldn't hide the look of nervousness and disappointment that crept across his face.

Jonathan didn't seem to notice the two knelt down in the nearby brush, and Colt intended to keep it that way. Wrapping a protective arm around Paige's shoulder, he ushered the cheerleader back into the woods, glancing back occasionally at the football player pacing in the gazebo. Although Jonathan hadn't uttered a single word the entire time he had been sitting there, it was pretty obvious from his actions what he had been thinking about.

Jonathan McDaniel was going to play the game.

Maybe... he already was.

Colt bit the bottom of his lip as he and Paige waded through the dense forest. He wondered if Chris and Kirsten were already dead. If they weren't, they probably would be soon enough. Jonathan had never treated Kirsten particularly well, and if he had truly decided to play, Colt couldn't help but think that she would be among his first victims. It took only a brief look at his girlfriend's worried face for Colt to know that that outcome simply was not an option. They had to find Chris and Kirsten before Jonathan did.

"Do you think... do you think he's gonna play?" Paige sniveled, fighting back tears.

Colt nodded solemnly, "Knowing Jonathan? Yeah. But don't worry, okay? We'll find Kirsten, we'll make sure she's okay."

"You don't think he'd really..." Paige trailed off, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I don't know," Colt responded with a frown, "But I wouldn't put it past him. Let's just make sure we find them first, okay? She's with Chris, Paige. She'll be safe."

"You think so?" the cheerleader sobbed.

Colt nodded again, "I know so."

"I hope you're right," Paige whispered quietly, wiping the tears from her face, "I really do."

The duo continued to walk through the woods, going no direction in particular. Colt wanted to find their friends but, in truth, had no idea where to even begin. The island did not seem overly large, but finding two students on it might have been like finding a needle in a haystack. Inwardly, Colt was kicking himself for not coming up with a better course of action when they had all been in the school building together. If he had passed notes, told his friends where to meet up...

Then again, if he had done that, it was quite possible they would have all been slain immediately when Jonathan decided to play.

**Fifty-seven remain.**


	7. Reunion

**Reunion**

"This game is boring," Mr. Danya protested as he reclined in his over-sized plush chair, "Where's the excitement? Where's the action? Where's the drama?"

A disgusted look passed over Dorian Pello's features, though he kept his face hidden away from the rotund figure sitting behind the desk. Dorian had not realized when he had taken this job what, exactly, it entailed. He certainly had not imagined himself aiding in the kidnapping and murder of countless high school students from around the United States. Just the thought of it made him nauseous, and he felt his body go weak. Even more disgusting was the way that Danya talked about it - like these poor kids were simply cattle being herded to the slaughter. In a way, Dorian supposed they were.

In fact, that had been the entire premise behind the final test run, hadn't it? Dorian fidgeted in his chair. The thought of SOTF's final test run brought back horrible memories for him. It had been a massacre, and that had been exactly the point. Danya had commissioned the kidnapping of four different schools, thrown the kids onto an island with no way to defend themselves, and commanded the Arthro Taskforce to slaughter every single one of them.

What Danya had not counted on was the fact that some of those students fought back. Several AT members were killed, and Dorian lost quite a few friends that day. And, if Danya ever found out what had happened to him on that island, well... Dorian didn't want to think about it. He would be fortunate to walk away with his life if word ever got out of his actions during that time. Pushing the terrible memories from the back of his mind, Dorian suddenly realized that the rotund man was staring eagerly at him, awaiting some sort of response.

"B-but sir," Dorian stuttered nervously, "It's getting off to a pretty good start, r-right? Three d-d-dead already, and it's only b-been ab-bout seven hours."

"Yes, well..." Danya cleared his throat, "I miss the test runs! The Claremont game was intense! It had me sitting on the edge of my seat the whole way!"

"Well s-sir..." Dorian stuttered, the nervousness in his voice outweighing his matter-of-fact attitude, "N-not every class is filled to the b-brim with psy-psy-psychopaths waiting to sn-snap."

"But it's sooo much more fun when they are!" Danya cooed, causing Dorian to cringe.

Outside the room, another face crinkled in disgust at Danya's cold remarks. Brandon Garnett's eyes remained trained on the ground. Had they not, the sheer amount of loathe and hatred burning inside them. Garnett had signed on with the SOTF ACT pretty early on into its creation. Before then, he had been a promising young soldier for the homecountry. Still, something about SOTF had never quite sat right with him. Especially after he had played witness to the horrific events that had unfolded in the final test run of the game.

He glanced down again at the short letter he had clinched in his hand. Somehow, the few words scrawled across the page in bubbly handwriting made him feel just a little bit better about what was going on in this place.

_Dear Garnett,_

_Made it here safely. I'll be in touch._

_Thank you for everything._

She had kept it short and simple. It had perhaps been the best thing she could have done. The mailroom at AT Headquarters was far from private. Their incoming and outgoing letters were searched and re-searched. Their belongings gone through. All to make sure that secrets regarding the SOTF ACT never left the homecountry, and never, ever got back to the American public that the program had been designed solely to terrorize.

His thoughts were rudely interrupted as a perfectly manicured hand slipped around his shoulder, running up his chest. Garnett sighed quietly, jerking away from the petite blonde, who feigned a frown before snatching the piece of paper from his hand.

"Ooh, Garnett!" Cecily Lacoste exclaimed mockingly, causing the soldier to raise his eyebrow in irritation, "What's all this about? Did you _finally _find a woman you could convince that you weren't a complete loser?"

"Fuck off," Garnett stated flatly, snatching the piece of paper back from Cecily's hand.

"So hostile!" the blonde mused, "I must've hit a nerve."

"I don't see how it's your business," Garnett responded, "Now go away."

"Aww sweetie, there's no need to be like that," Cecily cooed, further adding to Garnett's annoyance at her presence.

Garnett hated her, in every sense of the word. He had watched her kill one of his best friends in cold blood when they had participated in Test Run 8 a few weeks prior, and since then, he had wanted nothing more than to slowly strangle the life from her. Unfortunately, doing so would make him a traitor to the homecountry, and that just was not something he could afford. What Cecily didn't know was, Garnett had proof of what she had done, and was simply waiting on the right time to reveal the information to Mr. Danya. Removing Cecily Lacoste from AT Headquarters was one of many parts to Garnett's master plan. He would watch the whole system unravel from the inside. He just needed time.

"So is she ugly?" Cecily chimed suddenly, "I bet she's ugly."

"Go. away," Garnett stated again, his voice raising in mild annoyance.

"I'm prettier, right sweetie?" the blonde cooed again, obviously trying to push Garnett's buttons.

"No," he responded, causing a slight pout to form across Cecily's features, "Not by a long shot."

"Aww," she mocked, "That hurts my feelings!"

Turning away dramatically, Cecily stomped off down the hallway. At least he had finally managed to get rid of her. Every moment that irritating woman was around, he could feel himself slipping just a little bit more. Never in his life had he felt such a strong urge to cause physical harm to someone. But dear God, he would enjoy it. After the cruel way that she eliminated Orsen from the test run, just to claim his kills as her own. Well... Garnett couldn't wait to make her pay for that, and pay for every inch of it.

_But not now... not yet. At least... at least you all are safe. I'm glad..._

* * *

Coryn Richards (Female Student no. 29) sat on the beach, her back against an overturned wooden canoe. Absent-mindedly, she traced circles in the sand with her finger as she stared out into the distance. It all seemed so easy. The canoe was right here, just begging her to push it out into the ocean and hop on board. At least if she died out there, it wouldn't be by the hand of a former friend. Unfortunately, there were two very large holes in that plan.

The first was, of course, the metallic collar wrapped snugly around her neck. Coryn didn't dare try to remove it for fear that it might explode. Even if she could simply leave with it on, there was a high chance that it would detonate if she went too far out into the water. At least, if Danya's claims about watching them via the video cameras across the island were true. Even if the collars were no longer an option, escaping in the canoe would be risky... far too risky.

She had been sitting on the beach for several hours, and every once in a while, she would catch a glimpse of them - ships, circling just off the coast of the island. At first, she had thought they were friendly ships, and had attempted to flag them down. However, when one passed by close enough for the armed guard to wave back and laugh, Coryn had realized that they were Danya's men, and they were patrolling the sea surrounding the island. It had conquered all hope of escaping, at least by sea.

The brunette's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of an unfamiliar voice.

"Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes. I haven't ran into a single person today."

Coryn immediately bounced up, turning to face the source of the noise. She didn't recognize the boy's face - and it wasn't exactly an easy face to forget. He stood out like a sore thumb against the white sand, with his black hair styled into a tall, spiked mohawk. That, in addition to his all-black attire, made him easy to spot in the daylight. And yet, Coryn had not noticed him at all as he had closed in on her.

"You are...?" she inquired, eyebrow raised in both curiosity and concern.

"The Grim Reaper," Ash Roberts (Male Student no. 31) responded with a toothy grin, before swinging his spade toward the girl.

Coryn reacted much quicker than Ash had anticipated, rolling to the side and grabbing a fist full of sand before launching it toward the boy's eyes. He growled loudly as it connected and began furiously pawing at his face in an attempt to remove the sand.

"Rule number one," Coryn sneered as she grabbed her issued whip from the ground, cracking the boy in the side with it, "Know your opponent. Coming up here blindly with that stupid thing, that was dumb."

Coryn moved to strike him again, but the rocker boy violently grabbed her wrist, using his momentum to send the brunette flying into the canoe. Coryn yelped as her body connected with the object with enough force to send her half-sprawling over it. Ash immediately brought his weapon around, slamming the end of it into her back and causing her to roll off of the canoe in agony. Moving to stand over the girl, Ash smirked as Coryn looked up at him with defiant eyes.

"You won't be saying that when I kill you with it," he mused.

Ash brought the spade up in the air again, but Coryn grabbed his pants leg, yanking on it with all her might and causing the boy to fall in the sand. She forced herself to her feet and stumbled back a few steps, gasping for breath. Coryn was an athlete, but certainly not a fighter, and she could feel her body wearing down.

"Why are you doing this?" she coughed, still doubled over in pain from the boy's blows.

"'We don't have a choice in the matter," Ash sputtered back as he slowly rose to his feet, shaking his head as if to remove the cobwebs from it.

"We do," Coryn responded, "You don't have to kill people. It doesn't have to be like this."

"No?" Ash inquired, half-laughing through his gasps for air, "Then what should I do? Sit around like you and wait to die? No thanks. I kill my way through enough of you people, and I get to go home. Sounds worth it to me."

Coryn didn't have time to respond before Ash swung the weapon at her again, smacking her in the side and sending her back into the sand. Before Ash could bring it down on her yet again, she did the only thing that she could do. She grabbed another handful of sand and launched it toward the boy's eyes. Having not anticipated it, again, Ash returned to violently raking at his eyes, giving Coryn time to get back on her feet.

_If I run, he'll just chase me... if I stay here and keep doing this, he'll eventually beat me to death with that thing... what the hell am I supposed to do?_

A poorly aimed gunshot rang out across the beach, landing far to the left of Ash. Coryn's head jerked sideways only to see fellow cheerleader Hannah Lockhart with a gun pointed directly at the rocker boy's head. The redheaded girl moved closer to her friend, her gun still trained on Ash, but didn't say anything. After several moments at a standstill, Hannah finally spoke up, her soft voice clearly directed at Ash.

"Go away," she ordered, though it sounded more like a polite request coming from Hannah, "Please don't make me use this. Just go away and leave us alone."

Ash looked at the redhead, then at the gun, then back at Coryn before shrugging and slowly walking off down the shoreline.

"Shoot him," Coryn ordered, but Hannah only kept her gun pointed at him, her hands trembling violently, "Hannah. Shoot him. He'll kill someone else if you don't."

"I can't," Hannah protested, her voice quivering, "I just... I can't Coryn. We're both okay. That's enough, right?"

"Hannah, _shoot _him or he'll hurt someone else, maybe even come back for us."

"I'm sorry," Hannah protested, her arms falling loosely to her sides, "But I can't kill somebody, Coryn. I just can't."

Coryn snatched the gun from the redhead's hands and pointed it toward Ash, only to realize that in the time that they had been arguing, Ash had faded off into the distance. She briefly considered pursuing him and ending him now so that they didn't have to risk running into him later, but she was already exhausted from her short fight with him, and in a tremendous amount of pain from the violent blows he had landed on her with tha weapon. In a way, she was just thankful that the boy clearly had no idea how to use it right. He probably could have easily decapitated her if that had been the case.

"I'm sorry," Hannah stated again, causing Coryn to sigh in mild irritation.

"It's... it's whatever," she responded, "Thanks for the hand. I'm gonna hang on to this, in case we run into... someone else like him. Let's get out of here."

* * *

Micah Bradshaw (Male Student no. 17) felt awkward... well, more awkward than usual, and that was saying something for the giant of a boy. He slowly surveyed the room again, noting the faces of Alex Knight, Parker Lee, Michaela King, and Derek Vaughan around him. The other inhabitants of the lighthouse - Vanessa Reed, Tonya Palafox, and Luke Andrews were currently stationed at the top of the lighthouse, diligently watching for any sign of unwanted guests, or more trustworthy classmates.

Nessa had managed to orchestrate this entire ordeal herself, which Micah didn't find surprising. She had always been like that. She had been the second student to leave the school building, immediately behind Harvey Nash. After leaving, she had hidden in the bushes, calling over every single Aberthol student whose attention she could get, and who she felt would be trustworthy. He had overheard Tonya asking her why she didn't call any of the Shaker students over, and her response had caught Micah off-guard. Nessa had always been the type of person to give everyone a chance, but she had told Tonya that they "just couldn't trust kids they didn't know".

Then again, what Nessa had said was right, and it had been a smart decision. Somehow, Micah felt safe surrounded by these people, even though they had drawn quite the poor weapons arsenal between all of them. They had barricaded the lighthouse up pretty tightly, and between the entire group of them, chances were high that they could fend off intruders. Tonya had been issued fragmentation grenades, which was what the trio up top were currently using to fend off any sort of intruder. Fortunately, no one else had wandered by.

Micah chewed his lower lip, his dark brown eyes once again surveying the faces of the students around him. He might have felt safe, but the awkward silence and look of impending doom on the faces of his classmates made him feel quite uncomfortable. Part of him wanted to go upstairs and help keep watch, or go take a nap, or something. Something told him that was a bad idea. The idea of sleeping on this island didn't set right with Micah, and although he knew it was inevitable, he would prefer to do it later rather than sooner.

Across from him, Michaela fluttered her eyes in an attempt to stay awake. They had been working since early that morning - 2am, by her watch, to fortify the lighthouse, and it had taken quite the toll on her. The Mulatto girl found herself drifting in and out of consciousness, exhaustion quickly setting in since she had finally gotten the opportunity to rest. Parker, who had up until now been exceptionally quiet, suddenly spoke up, motioning up the staircase to the second floor of the lighthouse.

"You should get some sleep while it's safe," he muttered to Michaela, who was sitting beside him.

"Yeah..." the platinum haired girl mumbled, groggily rising to her feet and lumbering up the staircase, leaving the four boys staring at each other in another awkward silence.

"So this is the grand plan?" Derek inquired skeptically, "Sit here until Danya declares it a dangerzone... then what?"

"Nessa said when her turn up top was over, she'd get to work on the collars," Alex responded quietly.

"What makes her think she can get them off?" Derek responded, "And who's stupid enough to play volunteer to that little experiment?"

Alex shrugged, having no answers to Derek's questions. They were the same questions posed in everyone's mind right now, but Nessa seemed confident in her ability to outwit Mr. Danya's systems.

"At any rate, it's better than being out there alone with only a meat hook to defend yourself, right?"

"Point taken," Derek muttered, leaning back in the chair in which he was sitting.

At the top of the lighthouse, Tonya, Nessa, and Luke had stationed themselves at opposite points of the balcony, watching for any sign of students coming from the three possible directions. Luke leaned lazily against the tower, while Tonya and Nessa had long since come to a seat and were peering down at the ground through the bars surrounding the lighthouse's balcony.

The sun beat down brightly across the island, but despite the fact that there was not a cloud in the sky, a cool breeze seemed to blow up from across the ocean, causing Tonya to clutch her light blue jacket just a little more tightly around her torso. Luke seemed undaunted by the cool air, his eyes remaining trained on the ground as his shaggy blonde hair blew in the wind.

"Nessa...?" Tonya mused softly, her dark brown eyes focused on the ground below them.

"Mm?" the redheaded girl responded from the western side of the tower.

"Do you... do you really think we can beat this thing?"

Nessa grinned, "If we all work together? I know we can. This game, it's designed to incite terror into people... turn them against each other... play into their fears. The simplest way to defy Danya, and step one in conquering his stupid little game is to just not let that happen."

"But couldn't he just... you know... detonate the..." Tonya trailed off, not wanting to think about it.

"He won't," Nessa responded with a confidence that surprised even herself. This caught Tonya's attention, and she turned her head toward Nessa, eyebrows raised slightly.

"What makes you think that?"

"Because," Nessa smirked, "That man, he's all about the drama. That much was pretty evident from his little presentation. If he actually is airing this as some kind of game, then he'll let me go as far as possible without interfering. People like action and suspense, and cutting off an escape attempt would mess with his ratings too much."

"So you think he'd just let us walk off the island, just for ratings?" the raven-haired girl inquired, clearly skeptical about Nessa's statements.

"No," Nessa responded, "I'm willing to bet he'd let us get the collars off without interfering too much. Getting off the island, now, that's an entirely different story. Assuming we could build a boat, or a raft, or something, it's pretty likely we'd get gunned down at sea, unless we found a way past his sharks out there. I wouldn't be surprised to see him leave us on this island, though, and let those cameras keep running until we starved to death."

"That's reassuring!" Luke chimed in sarcastically from the north side of the balcony.

"Look, all the kinks aren't worked out yet, I've only had a few hours... and this is all assuming we could even get the collars off in the first place. I'm sort of playing chicken against a man that I know next to nothing about, after all. It's very possible that attempting any kind of escape will result in all of us being killed."

"But... if we don't try... we'll all die anyway," Tonya spoke up.

"Exactly," Nessa asserted.

Tonya's gaze drifted back to the ground, where she immediately realized that two figures had wandered dangerously close to the lighthouse while she had been distracted by Nessa's musings. Tonya gasped quietly, but before she could announce that they had intruders, she caught a closer glimpse of the two figures ambling along the beach.

"Hannah?" Tonya choked out bewilderedly, "Coryn?"

"What?" Nessa questioned, but Tonya didn't answer her, instead jumping to her feet and waving to the two girls.

"Hannah! Coryn! Hannaaaaah!"

Nessa beamed as Tonya bounded down the lighthouse's spiral staircase, waving toward teh door at the four boys sitting downstairs. Alex rose up confusedly, thinking at first that an intruder was outside. Before he could ask, though, Tonya wrapped her arms around his neck in a tight hug.

"Open the door! Open the door!" the Indian girl exclaimed excitedly.

Micah rose from his seated position and unraveled the multiple locks on the door. He barely had time to crack it before Tonya pushed him to the side and raced out toward the two girls. Coryn and Hannah stopped in their tracks, initially assuming they were being attacked. However, it didn't take long for either of the girls to recognize Tonya, and Hannah ran toward her friend, hugging her tightly.

"Oh my God!" Tonya proclaimed, "Are you two okay?"

"Barely," Coryn muttered as she headed toward the lighthouse.

Hannah and Tonya followed in tow, with Micah locking the door behind them and re-propping the objects against it after they entered. Coryn looked around at the faces of several of her classmates, a slight frown forming across her features. Noting the gun she held in her hand, Micah pointed to it, speaking up for perhaps the first time since Nessa had waved him over from the school building early that morning.

"Glad to see someone has one of those things," he muttered, causing Coryn to turn and face him.

"We needed it too," she deadpanned, lifting her shirt slightly to show the large bruise one of Ash's blows with the blunt part of his spade had caused her.

Micah scowled at the bruise, "Who was it?"

"He called himself the Grim Reaper," Coryn stated with a chuckle, "I have no idea what the fuck his name was. Kid was from Shaker, and he fully intended to beat me to death. Hannah just happened to show up in the right place at the right time."

Throwing her belongings to the floor, Coryn flopped down in an empty chair. Hannah leaned against the wall, her arms crossed across her chest in quiet contemplation. Tonya's face suddenly lit up, and she pointed up the stairwell.

"Micha's here too, and Nessa. We... we tried to grab you two, but you both ran off too fast. I'm glad we found you," she blurted out weakly.

"Mm," Coryn responded, suddenly rising from her chair and heading up the stairwell.

"I, uh... I need to get back up there," Tonya spoke up again, directing her statements to Hannah, "But, you should go say hi to Nessa, and there are a few places to sleep upstairs, if you want to get some rest."

Hannah smiled and gave her a slight nod before following Tonya up the stairwell, leaving the four boys alone in the room again. Micah sighed inaudibly as the silence returned.

_So awkward..._


	8. Persistence

**Persistence**_  
_

_School had ended a few hours hours prior, and the campus surrounding Shaker High School was all but empty at this time of evening. The wind blew lightly, causing several of the multicolored leaves still clinging to their trees to flutter off in the autumn breeze. It felt strange, the more that he thought about it. Right up until the end of his freshman year, Zach Stone had been a virtual nobody at Shaker High School... just your run-of-the-mill teenager, no different than anyone else on campus. Somehow, over the course of one short summer, that had all changed._

_He had started working out, lost some weight, gained some muscle, made new friends, gotten rid of old ones, discovered he was good at sports. He had transcended the old Zach in every way imaginable, and had become quite popular and well-liked for it. Still, as he jogged around the school's track, he couldn't help but wonder if it had all been worth it... if becoming a "new Zach" had truly made him happy. A quiet sigh escaped his lips before his thoughts were interrupted by a soft voice._

_"Hey there hotshot," she mused quietly, a faint grin playing across her features._

_"Hey you," he responded, a half-smile forming on his lips, "You're here late."_

_"Mmhmm... band practice ran late. So're you."_

_"Ah... yeah," he mused, rubbing the back of his head lightly, "Just... ya know, thinking."_

_"That's dangerous for your health!" she exclaimed, causing him to shake his head._

_"I know, I know."_

_"Sooo..." she mused, moving to walk beside him as he began walking around the track again, "What were you thinking about? Must've been something big, you're not exactly known for hanging out after school anymore."_

_"Yeah..." he mused softly, casting his gaze down to the ground._

_That hadn't been the case before this year. Prior to their sophomore year, he had been in quite a few afterschool academic activities. Band, in particular, came to mind, mostly because his current companion had been so insistent upon him joining along with her. He had never had much talent for instruments, but he had been happy to oblige her request. After all, Lilly Sterling had been a close friend since elementary school. In more recent years, he had developed an on-and-off crush on her, although he had never brought it to her attention._

_"Zach?" her voice interrupted his thoughts again, sending him back to reality, "Is something wrong?"_

_"Oh, uh..." he suddenly realized that he had completely spaced out, "Yeah, it's nothing. Just thinking!"_

_"Riiiight..." Lilly prodded, raising an eyebrow slightly, "So I'll ask again, what about?"_

_"Nothing major... just... I dunno, things changed so much over the summer, you know?"_

_"You're telling me," the redhead mused, pursing her lips lightly, "We came back to school and suddenly you're someone else entirely. Feels weird."_

_Zach stopped, his attention turning toward his fiery-haired companion, "Is that a bad thing?"_

_Lilly shrugged, turning to slowly walk backwards in front of him, "No, but... well, I just hope you don't forget who your real friends are, and who they were before all this."_

_"Of course not," Zach rebutted quickly, "I'd never cast you guys aside... not for anything."_

_She smiled faintly, although she hardly seemed convinced of his statements. Turning to walk forward again, she placed her hands behind her head, stretching slightly, "But you know... there was nothing wrong with the old Zach.'_

_"Yeah, but..." he frowned somewhat, "I'm still me you know."_

_"Guess we'll see..." she mused softly, "Let's go get some ice cream, or something."_

_"Alright..." he grinned, motioning her off the track and toward his vehicle._

_That had been the last time he and Lilly had really talked. Whether he had realized it at the time or not, Zach had changed significantly. Over the course of the year, he became too wrapped up in athletics and parties to keep in touch with his old friends. Lilly had started dating Andrew - another friend of Zach's since kindergarten, and they had all but cut ties to each other since then._

_Dear God he regretted it._

* * *

Zach Stone (Male Student no. 18) fought back a yawn as he surveyed the interior of the island's small hospital. Actually, hospital was stretching it, he thought. The building would have barely made a half-decent clinic. Through the corner of his eye, he watched Meggan Gage dig through the many cupboards and compartments around the building in search of any supplies that might help them long-term. On the other side of the room, Ryan stood nervously staring out the window. Zach sighed quietly, rubbing the back of his head with his hand.

"Findin' anything?" he directed at Meggan, only receiving a shrug in response as the blonde continued to dig through the clinic's cabinets.

"Zach," Ryan spoke suddenly, a sense of urgency in his voice, "Company."

"Hmm?" Zach inquired, his green eyes following Ryan's gaze.

The rotund, pig-tailed girl stood out like a sore thumb in the bright sunlight. She looked harmless enough as she dawdled around outside, occasionally glancing back toward the bushes. However, the psychotic chainsaw kid who had nearly killed Ryan and Meggan earlier had looked harmless enough as well. Rising from his seated position, Zach motioned for Ryan and Meggan to stay put before venturing out the door, gun trained on the heavy girl.

Amber Lewis let out a shrill yelp as soon as the unknown student came into view. They had left the hill when the sun came up, and had managed to not come into contact with any students since then. Of course, the first one they ran into _would _have to have a gun and look like he was more than willing to use it.

"What's wrong?" D.J. called urgently as he emerged from the bushes. Amber could only point a trembling finger toward the raven-haired boy with a gun trained on them.

However, before either could say anything, Zach realized who the girl's traveling companion was, and immediately lowered the gun. D.J., too, recognized Zach, and nodded happily toward the other boy.

"Deej..." Zach smirked, "It's good to see you're all right man."

"You too," D.J. replied with a relieved smile.

"Who's you're friend?" Zach asked, opening the clinic's door and motioning for the two to follow him inside.

"Oh, uh... Zach, this is Abby-"

"Amber," the pig-tailed girl interjected suddenly.

"Sorry, sorry," he corrected himself, "Amber."

She entered the building first, D.J. following in tow. Meggan had abandoned her search for anything useful from the cabinets, and was leaning against a counter talking quietly with Ryan as the two entered the hospital. Both students' attention turned to D.J. momentarily, and he nodded in greeting to both of them.

"Have you run into anyone else?" Zach inquired offhandedly, prompting D.J. to shake his head in response.

"You?"

"Yeah," Zach frowned, "A kid from your friend's school. Looked like your run-of-the-mill geek... bad acne. Guy's playing... tried to mow Ryan and Meggan down with a chainsaw."

"That's terrible!" Amber gasped, covering her mouth with her hand.

'Fuck, man..." D.J. mused quietly, taking a seat in one of the room's chairs, "This is for real. There are people that are actually buying into this shit."

"Yeah..." Zach responded, his voice trailing off as his thoughts went back to his former friends.

"So what... what are you guys doing? Just chilling here and hoping for the best?"

"So far..." Ryan spoke up.

"Mm..." D.J. mused, as if in deep contemplation, "I just don't think I can do that. There are people out there that I can't see get hurt."

A small smirk worked itself into the corner of Zach's lips.

"Your girl can handle herself, ya know," he mused, folding his arms across his chest.

D.J.'s face flushed red for a brief moment, and he hesitated before simply rebutting, "It's not like that."

_Girl? But he said there wasn't a girl._

Amber's eyebrows had raised as the remark came out of Zach's mouth, and she found herself thinking back on their conversation only a few hours prior. Traces of a frown formed on her lips, but she shrugged it off, instead standing awkwardly near the door of the clinic.

"So I guess I can't talk you into hanging out," Zach spoke up after a few more moments.

"Afraid not," D.J. responded quietly, "But when I find everyone... I'll come back here."

Zach nodded in affirmation.

"If we aren't here... well..." he chewed his lower lip contemplatively as he pulled out the island map, "Let's say... we'll meet up again at the gazebo... 24 hours from now."

"Alright..." D.J. agreed.

Zach frowned slightly, a serious expression forming across his features, "D.J."

"Yeah?"

"Listen, man..." he started, before trailing off. After a moment, Zach tossed the gun he'd been holding toward the other boy, "Don't you dare die out there. Find Jimmy and Rachael... and Nick, and Enzo, and get your ass to that gazebo."

D.J. nodded again as he caught the gun, "I will."

"Take my ammo too," Zach offered, "We've got another gun, we'll be fine. And..."

Zach turned away, nonchalantly placing his hands on the back of his head, "If you happen to find Lilly out there... keep her safe too, wouldja?"

D.J. smiled faintly, "Sure thing."

Amber fidgeted. The entire conversation, and all the talk of people she didn't know, it made her feel like an outsider. In a sense, she supposed she was. All of these people were from Shaker. But it wouldn't have mattered. Even within her own school, she didn't have many friends. Still, her mind roamed, and she couldn't help but wonder how long it would be until these boys cast her to the side. Would she still have a place with them once they found their friends?

As these thoughts passed through her mind, she realized that D.J. had turned his attention toward her, and had motioned toward the door.

"It's dangerous out there, but you're welcome to come with me," he offered with a feigned confidence that surprised her, "or if you want, I'm sure Zach wouldn't mind one more. I'll be back soon, I swear it."

"I want to go with you," she blurted out, immediately flushing red at her lack of tact.

D.J. nodded and moved toward the door. Amber followed en suite, and Zach trailed behind them, standing in the doorway of the hospital as they moved out into the daylight.

"Be safe out there man," Zach choked out as the two left. D.J. simply nodded in response and flashed a confident smile before the duo disappeared into the woods.

* * *

Kevin Edwards (Male Student no. 06) groaned quietly as he glanced at his map yet again. It had only been a few hours since the start of the game, but he felt as though he had walked all over the island in search of his brother. Kevin had made it clear that Brennan was to wait for him outside the school building as they had been dismissed from the starting room. Unfortunately, his twin seemed to have had other ideas, and was now nowhere to be found.

He had come across a few of the other "contestants" on the island, but had managed to avoid them all so far. Kevin had been fortunate with his designated weapon - a Browning High Power. However, he was still reluctant to confront anyone else on the island. His skepticism had gotten the better of him early on, and he had quickly realized that although he was acquainted with most of his class, he didn't truly _know _many of them well.

_Alright Kev, think. Where would he have gone?_

Kevin peered at the map as though looking for some sort of sign of his brother. He had already been down the beach, through the field, through the coppice. Kevin's blue eyes shifted from the map to the scenery in front of him. The small house marked on the map lie not far off in the distance. Several hundred feet behind it was a small well, and... he peered closer. Something was slumped over in the grass nearby.

Kevin stopped in his tracks, his eyes focusing on the lump in the grass. It was clearly distinguishable now as a person. At first, he had thought he might have stumbled upon someone resting, but as he hesitantly drew nearer, he realized with horror that this was not the case. The mousy-looking girl's face was twisted into an expression of shock, and her glazed-over eyes were cast up toward the sky.

She was dead.

As the realization dawned on Kevin, he doubled over, bile forcing itself from his throat. Another glance, and more spewed from his mouth. Catching a quick glimpse of his hands, he realized he was trembling violently. The most terrifying thing of all was the fact that he recognized this girl. He wasn't friends with Elizabeth Quincy. He barely knew the girl, outside of sharing a few classes with her.

But none of that mattered.

The fact that she was there, lying lifeless on the ground, horrified him. Again, he heaved, trying in vain to force back the vomit that refused to stay down. He blinked several times, tears forming in his eyes as he fixated on the morbid scene, unable to turn away.

_Why?_

It was the only word that popped into his mind as he hovered over the corpse of the girl. Why? What had she done to deserve this? Elizabeth Quincy barely talked to her fellow classmates. She had never hurt anyone, as far as Kevin knew. What could someone so quiet and timid have possibly done to deserve to die?

He realized then that he was kneeling down. His body seemed to move of its own accord as he lifted his hand to the girl's face and gently closed her eyes. He didn't know this girl, not on a personal level, but that was the least he could do for her.

"I... I'm so sorry," Kevin sputtered, blinking back tears that continued to form in his eyes, "None of us deserve this."

_Brennan..._

Kevin turned, walking away from the well, and in the opposite direction of the nearby house. Seeing Elizabeth Quincy's corpse chilled him to the bone, and he thought it more imperative now than ever to find his brother immediately. Before it was too late. A chill ran up Kevin's spine at the thought of it. His brother could be lying dead on the ground like Elizabeth.

Or lying there, still dying...

Kevin turned his attention back to the map, his hands still trembling violently. He mentally checked off the places he had gone, and scrutinized those he hadn't. Somehow, the caves jumped out at him. It seemed like somewhere Brennan would go. Maybe. Nodding in affirmation to himself, Kevin set off in the direction of the caves, hoping beyond hope that he would find his twin brother before someone else did.


End file.
